Government efforts to address human rights violations, which some say rivaled the record of the Marcos regime, have been found wanting by a group of foreign observers.

The International Fact Finding Mission organized by the Dutch Lawyers for Lawyers Foundation said its initial findings showed that government agencies are ambivalent in their efforts to abet and solve extrajudicial killings, particularly in cases involving the military and police authorities as alleged perpetrators.

“The willingness to investigate serious allegations of involvement of state agents in these killings is still lacking by the government authorities concerned,” the group observed.

“The Philippine government claims to have taken firm measures to address the problem of extrajudicial killings. Indeed it has established various task forces. Nevertheless, they have not led to visible results,” the group also said as its initial findings.

This is the second international fact-finding mission conducted to look into the spate of killings of judges and lawyers in the country. The first was in June 2006, where  foreign observers concluded that there was an impunity of killings of members of the judiciary under the Arroyo administration.

The second mission is composed of judges and lawyers from Belgium and the Netherlands which followed up the cases and assessed government efforts to address the killings.

They interviewed families and relatives of the victims, judges and lawyers facing threats, Chief Justice Reynato Puno, the National Police, the National Bureau of Investigation, civil society and human rights groups.

Decline in killings

Based on data by the National Union of People’s Lawyers and the Counsels for the Defense of Liberties, 15 judges and 22 lawyers have been killed since 2001. A number of judges and lawyers have survived attempted slay, received death threats and were reportedly included in the military’s order of battle or under surveillance.

The mission observed that while the number of killings has declined, it is still being perpetrated and that efforts to bring the killers behind bars have been dismal.

“Impunity still seems to exist. In the cases we investigated in 2006, little or no progress has been made so far,” the group, chaired by Judith Lichtenberg, said. Lichtenberg is board member of Dutch Lawyers for Lawyers Foundation and was with the International Criminal Tribunal in Rwanda and The Hague.

The mission lamented that “government measures merely focus on protection and security of lawyers and judges” when “they should also address the underlying causes.”

Asked to comment on the judges’ clamor for the SC to provide them with weapons as deterrence against attacks, Lichtenberg said “it is a sad situation that (arming the judges) would be necessary.”

GMA accountable

 The mission also observed that based on the practice in the country, “the principle of command responsibility cannot be used in criminal cases.”  But mission member Nol Vermolen said command responsibility is an accepted principle in international law and treaties. Vermolen is vice-president of the Court in Amsterdam in the criminal section.

Asked if President Arroyo should be held accountable for the spate of killings, Vermolen said: “Generally, as head of the agency.”

The findings and recommendations of the mission will be forwarded to the Philippine government and international lawyers organizations.