MANILA, Philippines -- A human rights group on Thursday pointed said extrajudicial killings and other human rights violations are on the rise again, citing figures for the first three quarters this year.
The latest monitor of Karapatan (Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights) showed that, from January to September, 43 extrajudicial killings and summary or arbitrary executions have been reported; there were also seven cases of enforced or involuntary disappearance reported during the same period.
The group also said thousands of people have been displaced by the continuing fighting in Mindanao between government troops and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
“The government’s return to all-out war in Mindanao after [President Gloria Macapagal-] Arroyo’s dubious Memorandum of Agreement [MoA] with the MILF has re-intensified conflict in the Southern island and displaced thousands,” the group said.
Mindanao saw a spike in killings, with 19 reported from July to September.
Among those killed were Maximo Branda, 47, former chairman of the Compostela Workers Association (CWA), an affiliate of the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU, May First Movement), who was shot dead by three unidentified armed men in Purok 5, Riverside Quarry, San Jose, Compostela Valley on July 19.
Karapatan also cited the disappearance of Northern Luzon activist James Balao on September 17. Balao, a member of the Cordillera People’s Alliance (CPA), remains missing.
The group also criticized the continued fighting in Mindanao, citing the death of six civilians, four of them children, during an air strike in Maguindanao last September 8.
“The Philippine military insisted that those killed in the air strikes were rebels, but local government officials in Datu Piang said the victims were civilians. The soldiers even accused
the MILF of having re cruited child soldiers,” Karapatan said.
“Data gathered by Karapatan show that the US-backed Arroyo regime continues to commit gross and systematic human rights violations nationwide,” the group added.
