The inter-agency committee on extrajudicial killings (EJKs) will study which of the 1,500 cases filed against “terrorist groups” by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) will be investigated immediately.
The AFP-endorsed cases involved alleged violations of the International Humanitarian Law (IHL), also referred to as “the law of armed conflict and regulates the conduct of war.”
The committee had earlier said that cases involved “attacks on civilian properties, willful killing of civilians/non-combatants, children involved in armed conflict, and use of anti-personnel mines.”
No additional details were given by the committee. It said the cases occurred between 2010 and 2020.
Department of Justice (DOJ) Undersecretary Adrian Ferdinand S. Sugay said on Monday, Dec. 20, said the 1,500 cases were tackled during a meeting held last Dec. 15 by the AO 35 Inter-Agency Committee on Extra-Legal Killings, Enforced Disappearances, Torture and Other Grave Violations of the Right to Life, Liberty and Security of Persons.
The cases will be subjected to “further study and future discussion.”