Aquino gov’t found wanting on human rights issue

MANILA, Philippines—The New York-based group Human Rights Watch said Wednesday that in its first year in office, the Aquino administration has been found wanting when it comes to protecting human rights.

“President Aquino’s record during his first year in office shows that human rights have just not been his priority,” Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. “He says he won’t tolerate killings and disappearances, but he needs to do a lot more to stop them.”

The group said that while the administration has undertaken positive reforms, it has not implemented genuinely effective measures to prosecute those responsible for the gravest human rights violations by the police and military.

The killings and enforced disappearances, which have marred the previous administration, still continue, the group said.