MANILA, Philippines -- (UPDATE) Professor Philip Alston, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary, or Special Executions has asked the top government officials to acknowledge that extrajudicial killings were happening.

?I would like a statement from the very top, from the President, from the Secretary of Defense, and certainly from the [Armed Forces] chief of staff saying that extrajudicial killings will not be tolerated,? Alston said during a press conference Wednesday at the end of his 10-day visit to the country to investigate the bloodshed.

Alston also said a ?significant number? of the extrajudicial killings of activists and journalists in the country have been ?convincingly attributed? to a military he said is ?in a state of almost total denial.?

But he also acknowledged that the UN cannot sanction the Philippines for the killings, although he said his ?visit has already begun the process of acting as a catalyst to deeper reflection? on the issue.

Alston?s visit is in response to government invitations for international bodies to conduct their own investigations into the killings that have earned the Arroyo administration increasing criticism here and abroad over its commitment to human rights.

Despite his findings, Alston said the government?s invitation ?reflects a clear recognition of the gravity of the problem, a willingness to permit outside scrutiny, and a very welcome preparedness to engage on this issue? of the killings.

?The AFP [Armed Forces of the Philippines] remains in a state of almost total denial?of its need to respond effectively and authentically to the significant number of killings which have been convincingly attributed to them,? Alston said.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo "needs to persuade the military that its reputation and effectiveness will be considerably enhanced, rather than undermined, by acknowledging the facts and taking genuine steps to investigate," Alston said.

Senior military officials have blamed rogue soldiers for some of the killings -- an explanation Alston said did not go far enough. The armed forces "needs to give us precise details and to indicate what investigations and prosecutions have been undertaken in response," he said.

He added that evidence offered by the military suggesting many victims were gunned down by communist rebels as part of an internal purge was "especially unconvincing."

Alston also noted that the ?executive branch, openly and enthusiastically aided by the military, has worked resolutely to circumvent? the political space allowed leftists ?to enter the democratic system.?

While he said this strategy, meant to ?eliminate organizations? that support many of the goals of the New People?s Army (NPA), is ?non-violent in conception, there are there are cases in which it has, certainly at the local level, spilled over into decisions to extra-judicially execute those who cannot be reached by legal process.?

He also noted the unevenness of government?s counterinsurgency strategy, saying: ?In some areas, an appeal to hearts-and-minds is combined with an attempt to vilify left-leaning organizations and to intimidate leaders of such organizations. In some instances, such intimidation escalates into extrajudicial execution.?

Although Alston refused to give his opinion on the report of the Melo Commission, created by Malacañang to look into the killings, he urged that it be made public and called government justifications to withhold it from the public ?unconvincing.?

?The report was never intended to be preliminary or interim. The need to get ?leftists? to testify is no reason to withhold a report which in some ways at least vindicates its claims,? he said.

He stressed the need to restore accountability mechanisms specified in the Philippine Constitution and Congress which he noted, ?have been systematically drained of their force in recent years.?

He cited Executive Order 464 and its replacement Memorandum Circular 108, which bars government officials and employees form appearing before congressional inquiries without presidential clearance.

Alston also noted a virtual sense of impunity in the country which he attributed to a weak judicial system that relies on witnesses who are ?systematically intimidated and harassed.? This, he said, has prevented around 80 percent of cases from moving into the prosecution stage.

?The response of government to the crisis of extrajudicial executions varies dramatically,? he added..: There has been a welcome acknowledgment of the seriousness of the problem at the very top. At the executive level the messages have been very mixed and often unsatisfactory. And at the operational level, the allegations have too often been met with a response of incredulity, mixed with offense,? he said.

The UN investigator said AFP chief of staff General Hermogenes Esperon Jr. should have launched ?a thorough internal investigation? into charges by activist groups that retired major general Jovito Palparan was responsible for scores of killings in areas he was assigned to instead of being content ?with telephoning? the former military officer thrice and concluding that the accusations ?were unfounded.?

But Alston also acknowledged the complexity of the issue, saying the increase in extrajudicial executions in recent years was linked to the government's campaign to wipe out communist rebels, who have been fighting for 38 years.