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