Reuters AlertNet Lite - Manila forms special courts for political killings

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Manila forms special courts for political killings

04 Mar 2007 09:32:25 GMT
Source: Reuters

MANILA, March 4 (Reuters) - Nearly 100 local courts will be earmarked to exclusively and swiftly decide on cases of extrajudicial killings involving political activists and the media, the Philippine Supreme Court said on Sunday.

The move is in response to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's call for the creation of special courts to deal with the unsolved political killings after a government-created inquiry said in its report released last month that members of the military were behind some of them.

Chief Justice Reynato Puno said in a statement he ordered the 99 local courts to decide on extrajudicial cases involving left-wing activists and media personalities within 90 days after the start of hearing them.

The country's highest court also ordered the special court judges and court staff to include the status of the extrajudicial cases in their monthly report of cases. Failure to do so would be grounds for withholding their salaries and allowances.

In the capital Manila, a total of 23 regional trial courts (RTCs) were designated as special courts while 73 RTCs in 12 judicial regions in the country were assigned.

The high court also issued guidelines in determining whether or not the crime is political in nature based on the political affiliation of the victim, method of attack and existence of reports saying military agents may have been involved in or were accessories to the crime.

Puno said that in areas where there are no designated special courts, the local courts handling cases of political killings should observe the guidelines issued.

Philip Alston, United Nations' special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, met with Puno last month when he visited the country for 10 days to investigate the killings.

Alston told reporters at the end of his visit that the Philippine military was in a state of "almost total denial" about dealing with those responsible for the murders.

Arroyo, who is also commander-in-chief, ordered the armed forces to update its rules on command responsibility after the release of the government-led inquiry, but analysts doubted there would be a major impact on the military.

The government and the military have repeatedly blamed the communist rebel group New People's Army for most of the murders of more than 800 people since 2001, saying the organisation was purging its own ranks. Leftist groups said the statements were an attempt at a whitewash.

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Last updated:Sun Mar 4 09:34:10 2007