1

Chapter 1

THE PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING

Background of the Study

Extrajudicial is essentially punishment carried out by the government, official

bodies or a group of citizens supported by the government, without the permission of a

court or legal authority. Though extrajudicial killing are known to be prominent features

of repressive governments, the governments of many large democracies also employ

such methods in certain circumstances.

In nations where there is political instability, armed conflict, natural disasters or

other situations in which a proper judicial system is not present or cannot function,

extrajudicial are common place. In many cases extrajudicial occur due to lack of proper

government structure or a weak judiciary. Extrajudicial killing which is usually carried out

directly by the government or with their silent approval. These killings are usually

masqueraded and justified as disappearances, suicides and self-defense responses

and are usually committed by departments of the governments, the army of police task

forces. Considering that such practices occur outside and in the absence of the judicial

system, those living in conflict areas are extremely susceptible to such punishments.

Extrajudicial killing being carried out by both governments and rebels against civilians,

humanitarian actors and journalists. (Dhirubhai Ambani 2016 International Model United

Nations)

Every human being does have the right of physical and psychological integrity –

this is a central concept of human rights. We speak of a human right violation if either of

the same integrities is harmed without legal grounds by state actors or agents of the
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state, or by non-state actors who are practically granted impunity due to the state’s

neglect of its general obligation to protect its citizens or populations under its jurisdiction

against offenses against their physical and psychological integrity, their property, or

other fundamental freedoms. Both vertical and horizontal forms of political violence such

as extra-judicial killings (EJKs) appear to be rather constant features in the Philippines.

The persistence of the problem often is explained with reference to distorted checks and

balances.

This study aims to identify the extent of extra judicial killing that is happening in

the community. This will help to initiate possible action plan to disseminate information

to the safety of the public.

Statement of the Problem

This study aims to investigate the extent of extra-judicial killings in General

Santos City and residents’ safety.

Specifically the researchers sought to find out the answer of the following

questions:

1. What is the extent of extra-judicial killing that is happening in General Santos

City?

2. What is the level of effects to the community regarding their safety?

3. Is there significant relationship between the extent of extra-judicial killing that is

happening in General Santos City and the safety of the residents?

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Hypothesis

There is no significant relationship between the extent of extra-judicial killing that

is happening in General Santos City and the safety of the residents.

Theoretical Framework

The term ‘extrajudicial killing’ in its original meaning refers to homicides that are

committed outside the legal system with no prior judgement of a court. In this sense, the

term comprises a large amount of violent acts with different motives, victims and

perpetrators. For instance,differ in that they claim extrajudicial killings to be politically

motivated acts. According to this definition, the state has to be involved in or at least

tacitly accept the commission of the killings. This type of definition is also used by the

Philippine government. When defining extrajudicial killings in that way, they are almost

synonymous to the term “political killings” except for the fact that political killings can be

committed with or without state involvement whereas the term extrajudicial killing

implies some degree of state involvement at all times (Melo et al. 2007).

Politically motivated extrajudicial killings usually have in common that they are

intended and well-organized murders that give the victim no chance to defend itself and

that the perpetrator remains unidentified. This is achieved by either wearing face

covering masks or by committing the acts swiftly with an immediate escape after the

murder is committed, possibly during night time or in a lonely surrounding. There can

even be the attempt of the perpetrators to make the killing look like a suicidal act. In the

Philippines, a large amount of killings have been conducted at the victims’ home, at

work or in between, where the perpetrator was masked and made a fast escape on a

motorcycle). It is another characteristic trait of politically motivated extrajudicial killings

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that they are usually followed by impunity. Between 2001 and 2010, there have been a

total of 305 incidents of extrajudicial killings with 390 victims in the Philippines. During

this period of time, only 1% of all extrajudicial killings resulted in a conviction (Al

Parreno 2010).

Conceptual Framework

Independent Variable Dependent Variable

Extent of Extra-Judicial v Public Safety

Killing in General Santos
City

Figure 1. Schematic showing the variables of the study

Significance of the Study

By nature and purpose of this study, the results or findings of the study will bear

significant contributions to the following persons:

 5

PNP Officials. It is hoped that PNP officials and other personnel’s will be able to

assess the unsolved killings that is happening in the city that can lead to maintaining the

peace and order in the community.

Barangay Officials. This study may serve as an aide to give them knowledge in

dealing on such cases and be more cooperative to the PNP in the programs

implemented in terms of peace and order.

Community as a whole. To the community members, this study will serve them to

understand the true meaning of extra-judicial killing and to contribute in the peace and

order of the community.

Students. This study may serve as an instrument to awaken their consciousness

in present situation of criminality in our country. It is also provided for them to become

more responsible students to be aware in existing problem of our nation in maintaining

peace and order.

Future Researchers. The result of the study shall serve as a ready reference for

them with whatever similar studies they shall partake

Scope and Limitation of the Study

This study will focus on the extent of extra-judicial killing in General Santos City

and the safety of the residents.

The variables covered in this study include the assessment of the extent of

killings and how it affects with the safety of the community.

Definition of Terms
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The following terms were used in this study and are being defined as follows:

Extra-Judicial Killing - Extra Judicial Killing is the killing of a person by

governmental authorities without the sanction of any judicial proceeding or any legal

process. Extrajudicial Punishments are unlawful by nature, because they break the

process of legal jurisdiction in which they occur. Most of the times Extra Judicial Killing

targets the leading politicians, religious figures, trade unions leaders and sometimes

socially popular figures. Extra Judicial killings are carried out by the state government or

other state authorities like the armed forces and police.

Crime - is the breach of rules or laws for which the Philippine government can

ultimately prescribe a conviction. While every crime violates the law, not every violation

of the law counts as a crime; for example: breaches of contract and of other civil law

may rank as "offences" or as "infractions".

Residents Safety - Residents have a right to a safe environment. Residents and

families are vital in the role of promoting safety and are included to the degree that they

are able to prevent and report adverse events.

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Chapter 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Foreign Literature

According to Michael Parenti, extrajudicial killing basically started from the very

beginning of civilization. When the lust for power arose the killing began in the form of

assassination. People like Julies César fell victim of extrajudicial killing. During the civil

war there is a term used as ‘lynching’. Lynching is an extrajudicial execution carried out

by a mob a, often by hanging, but also by burning at the stake or shooting, in order to

punish an alleged transgressor, or to intimidate, control or otherwise manipulate a

population of people of people, however large or small .Today lynching is defined in the

united states by some code of law “any act of violence inflicted by a mob upon the body

of another person which result in the death of the person".

Alston (2010), tackled that killings by law enforcement officials and other security

forces can take many forms. Very common form is intentional murders where police

shoot to kill alleged criminals without proper implementation of appropriate measures. In

countries where the security forces may be directly controlled by politicians, security

officials may conduct politically motivated killings, including of political opposition

members or supporters, and election related killings in many other countries, police kill

people while they are in off duty, for-profit even.

In recent times, in many countries, unlawful killings are committing during armed

conflicts. Countries including Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, Colombia, the

Democratic Republic of the Congo, Israel, Lebanon, the Philippines and Sri Lanka are

facing such unlawful executions. Means of such unlawful execution of war include air
 8

strikes; cluster bombs; raids; perfidy; suicide attacks; human shielding; issues arising in

urban counter-insurgencies; and killings of personhoods de combat (HRC, 2004).

Some refer to targeted killings of suspected terrorists as extra-judicial executions;

others claim they are legitimate acts of war (Kretzmer,2004) and counter-terrorism

responses must not themselves human rights and humanitarian law.

In an article, Karim & Cobain, (2010) stated that Bangladeshi special security

force Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has long been known for extrajudicial killing. In a

leaked WikiLeaks cable it was found that RAB was trained by the UK government. 16

RAB officials (sacked afterwards) including Lt Col (sacked) Tareque Sayeed, Major

(sacked) Arif Hossain, and Lt Commander (sacked) Masud Rana were given death

penalty for abduction, murder, concealing the bodies, conspiracy and destroying

evidences in the Narayanganj Seven Murdercase. Beside this lots of alleged criminals

were killed by Bangladesh police by the name of Crossfire. In 2018, many alleged drug

dealers were killed in the name of "War on Drugs" in Bangladesh.

In Bangladesh, the law says minimum force should be applied to arrests and

every person has the right to seek a trial. I the cases of “crossfire" and “encounters",

however, we find that these legal provisions are being totally ignored.

Article 31 of the constitution of Bangladesh states, “To enjoy the protection of law,

and to be treated in accordance with law, is the inalienable right of every citizen,

wherever he may be and of every other person for the time being within Bangladesh,

and in particular no action detrimental to the life, liberty, body, reputation or property

person of any person shall be taken except in accordance with the law".
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What is implicit in Articles 31 and 32 is the right to access to justice, and it cannot

be said that this right has been dealt with in accordance with the law unless a person

has a reasonable opportunity to approach the court in vindication of their right or

grievance. Even a fugitive is entitled to a legal defense when the death penalty is

involved.

A law providing for the deprivation of life or personal liberty must be objectively

reasonable, and the court will inquire whether for an ordinary prudent person such a law

is reasonable, having regard to the compelling, and not merely legitimate, governmental

interest. It must be shown that the security of the state or of society necessitates the

deprivation of one's life and personal liberty.

When the recent incidents of crossfire are studied, a common pattern that can be

found is that victims were arrested and killed in what is termed as"crossfire," an

"encounter" or a shootout during crackdowns on illegal firearms or the arrest of

criminals in deserted places, mostly in the early hours. This trend has become a cliché?

Still, according to the police regulations of Bengal (PRB), firearms should not be

used other than in emergencies. The uses of firearms are applicable in three situations:

for self-protection and possessing of property, for foiling an illegal gathering and, in

some cases, for making an arrest . The PRB mandates a full executive probe regarding

any use of firearms. Investigators are required to send the report to the government and

submit a copy to the police's top leadership.

Now people, who supported crossfire at the beginning, now are furious about

current occurrence. RAB are now been reported to force people to give them money or
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they have been shot at spot. Now the faith of people on our law is now going down

towards the bottom and it will continue going down if no measure taken soon.

Local Literature

July 2007 is an eventful month for human rights in the Philippines under the

Arroyo government. First, after a great deal of debate and delay, an anti-terrorism law or

officially known as Human Security Act (Republic Act 9372) has finally been passed.

Critics of the new law say that it is subject to the abuse of the government and therefore

would lead to more human rights violations. The government, on the other hand,

believes that the new law would strengthen the institutions like the courts and police in

protecting the human rights of the citizens against terror. Second, just a day after the

passage of the Human Security Act into law, a two-day National Consultative Summit on

Extrajudicial Killings and Enforced Disappearances: Searching for Solutions was held

under the initiative of the Supreme Court and was participated in by stakeholders and

duty-bearers of human rights. Third, a concurrent two-day summit of the Association of

Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on human rights to look into the creation of a

regional human rights commission was also held in Manila. With these events, human

rights and security have again taken center stage among the concerns and

considerations for our path and vision of the common future of the country, region, and

even of the world. Fourth, the State of the Nation Address (SONA) of the president

merely mentioned sparingly the state of human rights especially extrajudicial killings.

She just urged the Congress to enact laws, but was short of commanding the military

and police to stop the killings and other human rights violations.
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It would be noted that 48 member-states of the United Nations (UN) including the

Philippines ratified the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in 1948. In his

book, International Standards and Agreements on Human Rights and Humanitarian

Law, Reynaldo Ty (1989) defines a declaration as “a formal statement which refers to

the common standard of achievement” (p. 3). Being a declaration, it is not legally

binding but it sets a common reference to human rights among the signatories and, in

fact, has gained, over time, international acceptance and status as standards against

which either compliance or violation of the provisions in the declaration is monitored.

Signatories of the declaration recognize that these standards impose obligations,

duties and commitments on them to comply and enforce in their respective territorial

state. Donnely (2003), the author of In Defense of the Universal Declaration Model,

points out that the states have become the “new exclusive instrument for implementing

internationally recognized human rights” (p. 40). In other words, the practice of human

rights heavily relies on the political, economic, and cultural dynamics of a certain state.

This monism follows the generally accepted principle that the enforcement of human

rights is in the hands of the states (Ty, 1989).

Although in principle the declaration is not legally binding, the Philippine state

through the doctrine of incorporation has adopted the declaration as part of the law of

the land (Ty, 1989). The Philippine Constitution of 1987 expressly states this

incorporation in Article II, Section 2; “The Philippines renounces war as an instrument of

national policy, adopts the generally accepted principles of international law as part of

the law of the land and adheres to the policy of peace, equality, justice, freedom,

cooperation, and amity with all nations.”

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Furthermore, being a signatory of the declaration makes its adoption and

incorporation into the national laws more compelling and valid. However, being a

signatory does not necessarily guarantee and translate into full compliance and

enforcement. Thus, can being a signatory to the declaration make a difference in the

protection and respect of human rights?

In his article, Do International Human Rights Treaties Improve Respect for

Human Rights, Neumayer (2005) finds out that “the beneficial effect of ratification of

human rights treaties is typically conditional on the extent of democracy and the

strength of civil society groups as measured by participation in non-government

organizations (NGOs) with international linkages”(p. 926). He concluded that the

ratification might not have any effect or might even lead to further human rights

violations without democratic spaces and presence of strong civil society.

This paper looks at the case of the Philippine government under the Arroyo

administration, as a signatory to the declaration, and how it performs in the field of

human rights particularly with regard to the spate of extrajudicial killings by revisiting the

reports of Melo commission and UN-designated Special Rapporteur, Philip Alston, on

extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions. Then, the paper proceeds with a

discussion on the effect of ratifying an internationally-accepted declaration on the

Philippine government in the hope of an end to the killings.

What make the EJK policy under Duterte different from the past are its targets

and the breathtaking magnitude of the killings.

While criminals have long been the subject of salvaging by the police (as former

Manila police chief Alfredo “Dirty Harry” Lim would cryptically say, “Dalhiin na sa Tondo
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‘yan”), the rate by which drug users and pushers are killed today, either in police

operations or vigilante killings, are unprecedented in Philippine anti-crime history. An

EJK is often justified by making it appear that the victim deserved it. Local area

commands would come up with an “Order of Battle,” a list lumping together names of

activists, suspected NPA rebels and their sympathizers. Many of those on the list

eventually ended up dead, missing, arrested, tortured or forced into “surrendering.”

Military officials would later blame the communists themselves for the killings, saying it

was the result of an internal purge.

Nowadays we have that ubiquitous cardboard saying “Drug pusher, huwag

tularan.” Like the activists during Arroyo’s time, suspected drug users and dealers are

subject to public vilification through “Oplan Tokhang.” They are forced into surrendering

and admitting guilt on the basis of a nebulous list drawn up by the police and barangay

officials. In fact, many of those who surrendered have succumbed to vigilante killings.

Police say the killings are part of the drug syndicates’ effort to cleanse its ranks.

Alleged criminals killed in police operations are another disturbing matter. The

rise of the incidents of drug suspects reportedly killed while trying to resist arrest are too

dramatic to be given a presumption of regularity. A number have telltale signs of a

rubout as acknowledged by the police themselves.

What makes today’s EJKs particularly complicated is that the victims are

considered undesirable members of society. Unlike activists or revolutionaries, drug

addicts and pushers have no redeeming quality. These are not idealists being killed for

exercising their constitutional rights or addressing legitimate social grievances.

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Druggies, for most people, are the scum of the earth that should be wiped out from

existence.

Notice that when activists or rebels are summarily executed, their families and

the communities that they have served immediately demand justice. Human rights

groups, whose orientation has traditionally been, and for good reason, to protect the

rights of political dissenters immediately investigate and act to prevent more killings.

Networks of organizations are easily formed to hold the perpetrators to account.

On the other hand, when drug dealers are killed, their families hang their heads

in shame and the community silently rejoices at the loss of another troublemaker.

Everything is accepted as a consequence of the victims’ alleged illegal activities.

The challenges

If we are to stop the killings, the first challenge is for the public to denounce it.

Like in so many issues, public opposition, or better yet outrage, is needed for the

government to change its policy.

Unfortunately, whenever people are painted as rebels, terrorists or criminals, it

becomes difficult to denounce their killing. The initial indifference when activists started

getting killed during the Arroyo regime is similar to today’s ambivalence in the face of

the killings of suspected drug addicts and pushers. Oftentimes it is only when the

obviously innocent are killed – like children and nursing mothers – that the public is

moved to denounce EJKs.

Denouncing the killings should not mean condoning the alleged illegal activities

of its victims. What it should translate to is a demand for the police and military to follow
 15

the law and respect due process and human rights, so that criminals can be properly

punished in accordance with what is in the law.

The second challenge is for the families and friends of the victims of EJKs to

stand up and demand for justice. It is understandable that many of them would rather

sweep the killings under the rug, considering the stigma of being linked to suspected

drug criminals. However, it would be difficult for government agencies like the

Commission on Human Rights, National Police Commission, Department of Justice, or

human rights organizations and civil society organizations, to be taking up the cudgels

for people who do not want to be helped in the first place.

The third challenge is for human rights groups to expand their advocacy to

include those whose rights are violated on the basis of purely criminal, non-political

offences. While the traditional political orientation of human rights advocacy is as

important as ever, urgent attention is needed for atrocities committed in the course of

Duterte’s war on drugs and other anti-crime campaigns. Such a challenge will not be

easy, considering that most human rights groups are already so stretched in terms of

resources and manpower in dealing with political and counter-insurgency related human

rights violations.

Because the use of EJKs is an unwritten state policy in the Philippines, the only

way to prevent it is for the people themselves to demand a stop to the practice. (Teddy

Casiño, 2016)
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Chapter 3

METHODOLOGY

This chapter discusses the research design, locale of the study, respondents and

sampling used and statistical treatment of data.

Research Design

The researchers will use the descriptive method of research which is a definite

procedure to characterize, describe, and classify data or materials needed in relevance

to the study. It also included proper scrutiny and interpretation of all insights that will be

collected.

Locale of the Study

This research will be conducted in General Santos City particularly the city’s

Police precinct. Accordingly the research will be disseminate in Two (2) police precinct

including Police Station 3, Police Station 4, and chosen residents from Barangay Lagao

and Barangay San Isidro, General Santos City.

Research Instrument

This instrument to be used in this research will basically be the data to be

gathered from selected interviewees thru given questionnaire after interview.

Respondents and Sampling Used

The researchers will use a probability sampling procedure in choosing the

respondents. Particularly, the simple random sampling using the Slovin’s formula. There
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will be a total of 50 respondents; in which will be chosen randomly in the mention police

precinct in General Santos City.

Data Gathering Procedure

The researchers will observe the following procedure in data gathering:

Asking permission to conduct the study. The researcher will write a letter to

the Police Senior Inspector asking permission to conduct a survey regarding the study.

Analysis and interpretation of data. The researcher will gather and analyze the

data gathered using the appropriate statistical tools.

Statistical Treatment of Data

The researcher will use the frequency distribution (percentage distribution) and

the computation of the weighted average mean (WM). These statistical tools will be

used to come up with the summary of the results of the survey. Thus, these results will

be tabulated and interpreted according to the problems of the study being identified.
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References

Alston, Philip, (2010) Report of the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary

or arbitrary executions, Human Rights Council, Fourteenth session, agenda item 3.

Dhirubhai Ambani 2016 International Model United Nations

Donnely (2003), Defense of the Universal Declaration Model

Karim, Fariha; Cobain, Ian (21 December 2010). "WikiLeaks cables: Bangladeshi

'death squad' trained by UK government". The Guardian.

Kretzmer, David. (2004). Targeted Killing of Suspected Terrorists: Extra-judicial

Executions or Legitimate Means of Defence?

Melo et al. (2007): Report of Independent Commission to Address Media

andActivist Killings.Also called ‘Melo report’.

Parenti, Michael (2003), The Assassination of Julius Caesar: A People's History

of Ancient Rome (The New Press, 2003). ISBN 1-56584-797-0.

Parreno, AlA. (2010): Report on the Philippine Extrajudicial Killings (2001-August

2010).USAID andAsia Foundation Report, Manila

Ty, Reynaldo (1989) International Standards and Agreements on Human Rights

and Humanitarian Law In Truth and Freedom: Understanding and Teaching Human

Rights
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Appendix A

QUESTIONNAIRE

NAME: _____________________________________________________
Surname Given name Middle name

PART I. STATUS OF CYBERCRIME RELATED CASES IN GENERAL SANTOS CITY

GENERAL DIRECTIONS: Check the box that will correspond to your answer using the

scale below:

1 – Occur Frequently

2 – Occur Infrequently

3 – Has not occurred

Indicators 1 2 3

A death squad is an armed group that

conducts extrajudicial killings or forced disappearances of
persons for the purposes, such as political
repression, assassinations, torture, genocide, ethnic
cleansing, or revolutionary terror. These killings are often
conducted in ways meant to ensure the secrecy of the
killers' identities.
Environmental killings
are murders or assassinations linked to environmental
issues such as illegal logging, mining, land grabbing,
and pollution. Victims have included not
only environmental and land rights activists, but also
members of indigenous communities and journalists who
have reported on these issues.
A Forced disappearance occurs when a person is
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secretly abducted or imprisoned by a state or political

organization or by a third party with the authorization,
support, or acquiescence of a state or political
organization, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the
person's fate and whereabouts, with the intent of placing
the victim outside the protection of the law
Lynching is a premeditated extrajudicial killing by a group.
It is most often used to characterize informal public
executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged
transgressor, or to intimidate a group.
Social cleansing is class-based killing that consists of
elimination of members of society considered
"undesirable," including but not limited to the homeless,
criminals, street children, the elderly, sex workers, and
sexual minorities
A summary execution is an execution in which a person
is accused of a crime and immediately killed without
benefit of a full and fair trial.
Targeted killing is defined as a form
of assassination based on the presumption of criminal
guilt.

PART II. SAFETY OF THE PUBLIC

Direction: Kindly check the box that will correspond to your answer as to your rating

below.

Scale descriptive equivalent

5 strongly agree
4 agree
3 moderately agree
2 disagree
1 strongly disagree
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RESPOND
Indicators 1 2 3 4 5
1. I don’t feel safe when I am in public due the
killings that is happening in my community.
2. I don’t have any trust toward the police force.
3. I believe that the war in drugs is absolutely
needed to end drug related crimes.
4. I believe that life is precious and not be
taken by a human being.
5. President Rodrigo Duterte stands is right in
protecting the community towards drug
addicts.
6. I am compromise with my own safety
because of the negligence of the PNP.
7. I am afraid that I can be the next suspect of
crime that I didn’t commit.
8. Extra judicial killing must be blame to the
governments’ incompetency.