MANILA, April 8, 2009─The world's leading human rights organization is looking at the Catholic Church to consistently make its moral voice heard against the series of human rights violations happening in the country.
Human Rights Watch Director Kenneth Roth in a press briefing yesterday morning said they need the Church's moral authority to stress that "these (targeted killings) are wrong and a different solution has to be found."
Roth's group is in the country to investigate the killings perpetrated by the so-called death squads in Davao.
The official said he hopes the "Church when they speak for the poor should also speak for the victims of these despots."
"The Catholic Church rightfully prides itself on speaking out for the poor and disenfranchised and that should be," Roth added.
He said victims of targeted killings are those who belong to the most disadvantaged segments of society, the street children and the "nobodies" of society.
For her part, Philippine Commission on Human Rights (PCHR) Chairperson Leila de Lima said "the Church should consistently and continuously condemn the killings."
De Lima was in Davao last week to lead the investigation and hearing of those allegedly involved in the extra-judicial killings cases in Mindanao.
She commended the recitation of prayer by the local Church of Davao calling the faithful to reflect on the evil effects of extrajudicial killings perpetrated by the Davao death squads.
"There should be consistency in advocacy against this type of phenomenon because it is immoral, illegal and totally unacceptable," De Lima said.
Roth also called on the Philippine government to immediately dismantle the so-called Davao Death Squad and investigate the involvement of officials in targeted killings.
Asked of any parallelism elsewhere in the world, Roth said the closest geographic parallel would be Thailand under former Prime Minister Thaksin who used death squads to go after illegal drug lords.
El Salvador, Chile and Argentina in Latin America also had their share of death squads which went after known political enemies of despots, he said.
"Many of the killings were politically-motivated," Roth added. He also cited the experience in Brazil, in Sao Paolo and Rio de Janeiro where policemen went on extrajudicial killings whose victims included young men alleged to be criminals "without the benefit of trial."
Roth said he looks forward to the Philippine government's true leadership to put a stop to the activities of the dreaded Davao Death Squads by condemning the practice, dedicating resources to investigate and prosecuting those involved.
He lauded the country's Commission on Human Rights for doing well even as he criticized the Department of Justice, the Ombudsman and the Philippine National Police for doing "nothing."
He said the government has the duty to go after and seek out evidence and provide security guarantees for witnesses.
Roth said they did their research in Davao and talked to the victims' relatives, some insiders and others who knew of the Davao Death Squad's operations in two weeks.
"If we at the Human Rights Watch did it in two weeks, they can do much better," Roth said. (Melo Acuña)