INDEPENDENT NEWS

Cablegate: Ambassador Urges Police On Extrajudicial Killings And

Published: Wed 19 Mar 2008 10:02 AM
VZCZCXRO8964
OO RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHML #0717 0791002
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 191002Z MAR 08
FM AMEMBASSY MANILA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0207
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS IMMEDIATE
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RHHMUNA/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI IMMEDIATE
UNCLAS MANILA 000717
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
STATE FOR DRL, DS/ATA, EAP/MTS, EAP/RSP, INL/AAE
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV KCOR KCRM PHUM RP
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR URGES POLICE ON EXTRAJUDICIAL KILLINGS AND
TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS
REF: A. MANILA 666 (ANTI-ARROYO FERVOR FIZZLES)
B. MANILA 521 (PROTESTS LACK CRITICAL MASS)
C. MANILA 539 (2008 TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT)
D. 07 MANILA 3881 (EXTRAJUDICIAL KILLINGS DECLINE IN 2007)
1. SUMMARY: In a March 15 speech to nearly 1,600 police officers,
including both the nation's most senior officers and its newest
recruits, the Ambassador underscored the critical role of the police
in protecting democratic institutions and values, as well as the
need for the police to intensify efforts to combat extrajudicial
killings and trafficking in persons. The Ambassador used her
remarks at the annual Philippine National Police Academy Alumni
Homecoming Ceremony to stress the USG's commitment to assisting the
police to improve its ability to protect human rights and ensure
that those involved in extrajudicial killings and other abuses are
successfully prosecuted and brought to justice. END SUMMARY.
2. On March 15, the Ambassador joined Philippine National Police
Academy Director Danilo Abarzosa and Philippine Public Safety
College Director Margarita Cojuanco at the Philippine National
Police Academy's annual Alumni Homecoming Ceremony in Silang,
Cavite. In her keynote speech, the Ambassador commended the police
for their recent work with civil society groups to create the
conditions under which citizens can exercise their democratic right
to peaceful protest, citing the police agency's handling of large
political demonstrations on February 25, 29, and March 14 without
incident (refs A and B). She stressed that the police force is the
shield that protects and provides security for the population and
that democracy, rule of law, and economic growth can only flourish
in a secure environment. Police efforts during the recent
demonstrations displayed the police agency's commitment to public
order, as well as the growing professionalism throughout its ranks.
INTENSIFIED EFFORTS VITAL
-------------------------
3. The Ambassador also used the opportunity to commend the police
for improved efforts to investigate alleged extrajudicial killings
and trafficking in persons cases. She commended the Philippines for
the reported dramatic decline in alleged killings in 2007, but she
emphasized that much more needs to be done. As these issues
continue to receive significant domestic and international
attention, she urged the police to intensify their investigative
efforts to achieve more prosecutions and convictions in these cases.
The Ambassador emphasized the critical role of the police in
building stronger cases to ensure that the "the public respects the
integrity of security forces." A transcript of the Ambassador's
remarks as delivered is available on the Embassy's public website at
http://manila.usembassy.gov.
4. The Philippine National Police Academy opened its doors in 1978,
graduating its first class of cadets in 1980. The Academy, overseen
by the Philippine Public Safety College, currently boasts almost
1,400 cadets in its four-year Bachelor of Science in Public Safety
program. Since 1978, more than 53,000 Academy graduates have
entered the officer ranks of the Philippine National Police, the
Bureau of Fire Protection, and the Bureau of Jail Management and
Penology. The Academy's program is now one of the hallmark reform
efforts of the national police agency's transformation program, with
senior police leadership recognizing that professional development
and training are essential building blocks for a more capable police
force.
COMMENT
-------
5. Embassy officials from the Ambassador on down continue publicly
and privately to highlight U.S. concern about unlawful killings and
trafficking in persons and to seek additional ways the USG could
provide assistance to the Philippine Government, including the
Philippine National Police, in combating these human rights abuses.
The Ambassador used the March 15 event at the police academy to
underscore to nearly 1,600 police officers from every rank the USG's
commitment to assisting the police to protect and promote human
rights and, more specifically, to ensure that those involved in
extrajudicial killings -- whoever they may be -- face justice. We
will continue to use every available opportunity to highlight USG
concerns and to press for intensified government efforts at all
levels to address these abuses.
Visit Embassy Manila's Classified SIPRNET website:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eap/manila/index. cfm
You can also access this site through the State Department's
Classified SIPRNET website: http://www.state.sgov.gov
KENNEY
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