February 17, 2007, The Philippine Star, Gov’t urged to release Melo report,

February 17, 2007, The Philippine Star, Gov’t urged to release Melo report,

Foreign diplomats have urged the Philippine government to release a report by a fact-finding commission that blamed soldiers for a large number of extrajudicial killings, the head of the probe said Friday.

"They just want that the findings should be shared with the public," former Supreme Court justice Jose Melo told The Associated Press a day after briefing representatives of the European Union on the report, commissioned by President Arroyo.

European countries have expressed concern over the hundreds of government critics killed since Arroyo took office in 2001.

Local human rights group Karapatan has listed 832 alleged summary killings, including the deaths of 356 left-wing activists since 2001, and blamed security forces for their deaths. More than 200 remain missing.

Melo confirmed the report had implicated soldiers in a majority of the killings.

He also said his "number one recommendation" was for all officials, not just the President, to more strongly condemn the killings "so the people will see that it’s not just lip service, that you mean it."

As an example, he said, the President should not just denounce the assassinations but threaten to hold military commanders responsible and relieve them of their duties if the killings remain unresolved.

The Melo Commission submitted its report to Arroyo last month. But the government has yet to release it to the public, saying it is incomplete and inconclusive without input from the UN and other parties.

Melo disagreed. "I feel that it’s a complete report already," he said.

Meanwhile, two widows of slain militants were encouraged by the presence of a United Nations official in the country to come out and implicate four party-list lawmakers in the killings of their husbands, police said Friday.

Chief Superintendent Samuel Pagdilao Jr., Philippine National Police spokesman, said with Philip Alston, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights special rapporteur, in the country, the widows of Carlito Bayudang and Danilo Felipe were emboldened to charge with murder Representatives Satur Ocampo and Teodoro Casiño of Bayan Muna, Liza Maza of Gabriela, and Rafael Mariano of Anakpawis.

"This is a positive development that the PNP was hoping to happen since it started investigating unsolved killings of party-list members," he said.

"The Task Force Usig had been asking for cooperation from the victims’ family which is very essential in the ongoing investigation. The family members could have been encouraged and emboldened by the presence of the UN rapporteur in the country."

Pagdilao said several mass graves were dug up, and that the most recently unearthed contained the remains of Akbayan members who were killed by rival leftist party through its armed group-the CPP-NPA.

"The PNP hopes that more witnesses like these family members of victims of party-list killings attributed to NPA or any organization or person will come out in the open to support out investigation," he said.

Bayudang and Felipe were community organizers of Akbayan party-list when they were killed.

Widows Medelyn Felipe and Isabelita Bayudang asked the Commission on Elections to cancel the registration of Bayan Muna, Anakpawis and Gabriela as party-list organizations and disqualify their nominees for seats in Congress in the May 14 elections.

"Bayan Muna, Anakpawis and Gabriela... are widely known as front organizations of the Communist Party of the Philippines, New People’s Army and the National Democratic Front," the widows said in a statement.

Their husbands were killed because of their active involvement in campaigning for Akbayan, which was a "stumbling block" to the election of the three party-list organizations in the 2001 and 2004 elections, they added.

The two widows said multiple murder charges were filed before the Nueva Ecija Prosecutor’s Office against Ocampo, Casiño, Maza and Mariano.

The four party-list lawmakers were included in the charges based on the confession of one Sinohin, who claimed Ocampo, Casiño, Maza and Mariano directed, approved, and implemented the killing of leaders and supporters of the rival party-list group, the widows said.

Akbayan is an organization of former New People’s Army members who broke away from the faction led by Jose Maria Sison. With Cecille Suerte Felipe and AP