By Jeffrey Damicog
The Inter-Agency Committee on Extra-Judicial Killings was able to investigate more cases in 2019 compared to the previous year, the Department of Justice (DOJ) revealed.
Department of Justice (DOJ) Undersecretary Markk Perete (Photo courtesy of dumaguetecity.gov.ph / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
DOJ spokesman and Undersecretary Markk Perete said that, in 2019, there were 16 special investigation teams (SIT) created by the Inter-Agency Committee on Extra-Judicial Killings, Enforced Disappearances, Torture and Other Grave Violations of the Right of Life, Liberty and Security of Persons.
Perete disclosed this was more than the four SITs created by the committee in 2018.
“For each case we created one special investigating team,” the spokesman explained.
Perete also disclosed that back in 2013 there were 23 SITs created.
The inter-agency committee, which is headed by the Justice Secretary, was formed in 2012 under Administrative Order (AO) No. 35 issued by then President Benigno Aquino III.
“Under the AO 35 mechanism, the prosecutor becomes the lead, the team leader in the case build-up phase to ensure that the necessary evidence will be collected even before the complaint is filed with the prosecution office,” Perete said.
“So these are cases involving extrajudicial killings or extralegal killings, force disappearances, torture and other grave violations of human rights including violations of the international humanitarian code provisions,” he added.
On the other hand, Perete failed to explain why there was an increase in the cases investigated by the inter-agency committee in 2019/
“A lot of the cases are considered extra-legal cases so these are politically motivated killings, even cases involving indigenous people,” he noted.
Perete said the cases handled by the SITs are “really difficult cases.”
“Most often, you do not have the witnesses because the respondents are either military officers, police officers, or members of the rebel groups and so many are afraid to talk and testify,” he said.
“So that’s why you have the prosecutors leading the investigation of these cases because they are also given resources to track down the witnesses,” he added.