NEWS RELEASE
March 6, 2007

EO 493 can foil SC's special courts

Even as it welcomed Chief Justice Reynato Puno's order to form 99
special courts for cases of extrajudicial killings, Bayan Muna said
"huge obstacles, such as (In)justice Sec. Raul Gonzalez, hamper the
investigation and prosecution of cases."

"The honorable chief justice, as he intimated when the special courts
were first suggested, knows well that the special courts cannot exist
in a vacuum. Since 2002, relatives of victims have filed cases of
murder and abduction against identified suspects and Jovito Palparan,
but because of lack of zeal and bias of prosecutors under the DOJ, not
one of the cases have progressed in the courts," said House Deputy
Minority Leader and Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo.

According to Ocampo, President Arroyo's Executive Order 493, issued on
Jan. 17, 2006 forming an inter-agency legal action group that has since
invented cases based on fabricated evidence against so-called enemies
of the state, may foil Puno's efforts.

"Will Mr. Gonzalez act out of character and cause the filing of cases
against Palparan, who the President herself praised in her last
stateof the nation address and who Gonzalez wants to name as security
consultant at the DOJ?" asked Ocampo.

Ocampo notes that the Arroyo government has maintained its hardline
stance on extrajudicial killings and has defended the military death
squads suspected of perpetrating most of the slays of activists,
journalists, lawyers and judges.

"That the cabinet oversight committee on internal security and the AFP
continue to adhere to
the erroneous notion that the counterinsurgency operations should
target partylist organizations and other civilians and non-combatants
sends a subliminal message to the entire Executive Department. The
message is that the killings are justified and thus should never reach
the courts," said Ocampo.

Ocampo expressed concern that fabricated cases against Bayan Muna may
clog the newly-formed special courts. "The Arroyo government is more
interested in misusing the PNP, NBI and DOJ in inventing cases against
us, as in the rebellion case against the Batasan 6 and the ridiculous
murder charges in Nueva Ecija alleging that partylist representatives
ordered the execution of Akbayan members."

"We urge Chief Justice Puno look into the repercussions  of Executive
Order 493 through the actions of the Inter-Agency Legal Action Group
headed by National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales and with the
DOJ, NBI and PNP as members," Ocampo said.

Ocampo said "the idea that junk cases may be filed in the special
courts is not farfetched. The military and police will just invent
cases following their story line that activists are killing
themselves, or the baseless allegation of a communist purge is behind
the slays, which UN Special Rapporteur Philip Alston has dismissed as
a fabrication."

"This IALAG is behind the trumped-up cases now littering the courts,
and we expect that more such fabricated cases will steal precious time
and resources of the judges from tackling extrajudicial slays," said
Ocampo. ###



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Anthony Ian M. Cruz "Tonyo"
Mobile: +639178928277; +639224223522
Email: tonyocruz@gmail.com
Blog: http://tonyo.blogspot.com
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