Press Release
March 16, 2007

ANGARA ON HUMAN RIGHTS

TACLOBAN CITY : Sen. Edgardo Angara said Friday that any finding of the US Senate committee on East Asia and the Pacific on the alleged state-sanctioned killing of left-leaning persons is not binding on the Philippines .

However, it is necessary for the Philippines to show that it is complying with the international conventions on human rights because respect of human rights is an international concern, and not just of the United States, Angara told reporters here.

He said that even without the investigation by the US Senate, the Philippines should continually show to the world that it has been respecting the human rights of Filipinos, friends and foes alike.

The US Senate panel headed by Sen. Barbara Boxer is investigating claims that about 800 persons had been killed since 2001 when the Arroyo administration took over. The Philippine military had claimed that most of the killings were done by communist hit squads. The Melo Commission created by the President said there were links of the killings to the military.

Some representatives of leftist groups are set to testify before the US panel with documents that they said would prove their allegations that the Philippine military is behind most of the killings.

The findings of the US panel are not binding on us. We may question it. The testimonies may not all be reliable. Some of them could come from polluted source, Angara said.

News Latest News Feed