Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. on Friday said the defense and the military establishment would not allow foreign groups to dictate the pace of their reform initiatives in addressing extra-judicial killings in the country.
Interviewed after addressing troops of the Philippine Armed Forces Capital Region Command, Teodoro said that while there may be some soldiers involved in the killings, such extra-legal acts are not sanctioned by the military leadership.
The statement was made days after the U.S. State Department expressed concerns about extra-judicial killings of leftist militants and journalists in the Philippines. The U.S. state department also said that "concerns about impunity persisted."
"We are dealing with the issue of extra-judicial killings structurally in the department. It will be on our pace, on our terms, in our own programs," Teodoro said.
Teodoro assured that the military has been already conducting a review of their procedures whether there is an "adequate observance" of human rights standards in the conduct of their operations.
The defense chief said that he has yet to read the complete assessment of the U.S. state department. "But I feel that the incidents of reported political killings has gone down drastically," he said.
Teodoro also denied reports saying that some generals were involved in the killings.
Source: Xinhua
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