MANILA, Philippines ? As the world marked International Human Rights Day on Thursday, Commission on Human Rights (CHR) Chair Leila de Lima said the Nov. 23 Maguindanao massacre had trained the spotlight on the worsening situation under President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo?s administration that, she claimed, could nearly be comparable to the dark days of Ferdinand Marcos? dictatorship.

More brutal

?We cannot say it?s worse today than martial law, but the human rights situation is getting worse. We were supposed to have already restored democracy, but the way things are happening, it is said that we are nearing failed-state status or ... a failed democracy,? De Lima Thursday told reporters.

De Lima said the ?unbelievable incidence of atrocities? like the massacre of 57 people including women and journalists not only made the human rights situation in the country ?dismal? but also showed a much more brutal nature of the crimes that victimized even ordinary citizens.

?The Arroyo administration is catching up when compared with the record of the [Marcos] regime. In terms of nature, a massacre like this did not happen before,? she said.

In its yearend report, the human rights group Karapatan said that in the eight years and 10 months of the Arroyo administration, there were 1,118 documented extrajudicial killings, 204 victims of forced disappearances and 1,026 victims of torture.

An American historian had said there were more than 3,000 extrajudicial killings during the 20-year Marcos dictatorship.

?Never again?

De Lima said it was ?ironic? that the 61st anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights was commemorated while the nation was grappling with the massacre in Maguindanao and its consequences, like the declaration of martial law there.

On Thursday, the CHR led the planting of 57 trees to symbolize the call for justice for the 57 victims of the massacre.

?For the mass killing to take place so close to today, Dec. 10, the day on which the world celebrates Human Rights Day, is a travesty,? De Lima said in a message.

She said the perpetrators of the massacre should be held accountable: ?We cannot allow these wrongdoers to evade justice, this time. The rule of law must be strengthened. The importance of forensic evidence must be recognized. We have borne witness to too many murders, where the persons responsible are never found. We have seen too many cases fail, for lack of proper evidence. We cannot allow this to take place once again, in Maguindanao. Not this time, and not ever again.?

Hong Kong

Filipino workers in Hong Kong marked International Human Rights Day with a protest action.

Members of the United Filipinos (Unifil) in Hong Kong and other militant groups picketed the Philippine Consulate and called for justice for the massacre victims as well as the lifting of martial law in Maguindanao.

?Martial law will not spell justice for the massacre victims but will result in more human rights abuses against the Maguindanao people,? Unifil secretary general Eman Villanueva said in a statement.

Gabriela-HK chair Cynthia Abdon-Tellez said the imposition of martial law in the province might end up in ?a whitewash? and ?lead to the Ampatuans escaping from real justice.?

Middle East

From Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Migrante-Middle East regional coordinator John Leonard Monterona said the group?s Muslim members whose families were living in Maguindanao had aired concerns that martial law would lead to more rights abuse.

Monterona said Filipino workers in the Middle East?where public demonstrations are illegal?were worried that if the Arroyo administration could not give justice to the massacre victims, then it would not have the moral ascendancy to seek amnesty for some 3,000 Filipinos languishing in prisons in the region.

He said almost two-thirds of the Filipinos in Middle Eastern jails were charged only with minor offenses involving violations of the host countries? social and customary laws.

?We can?t expect that OFWs will be given protection by the Arroyo regime that is just as liable for creating a culture of impunity in the homeland amid the continued extrajudicial killings and disappearances, and heightened political persecution of leaders and members of peoples? organizations,? he said. With a report from Jerome Aning