A LAWMAKER said Thursday former President Benigno Aquino III must be held accountable for the alleged human rights violations under his watch.
Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Carlos Zarate made the statement as the nation got ready to celebrate Human Rights Day on Saturday.
Zarate said there had been no justice for the victims of abuses under the Aquino administration.
“The Aquinos should also be made [accountable] and compensate the victims of human rights violations while they were in power,” Zarate said in a text message.
Kabayan party-list Rep. Harry Roque agreed, adding all previous presidents also face justice for the mindless violence and impunity committed in their administrations.
“I have always maintained that all presidents should be held liable for violating the right to life,” Roque said.
Citing the World Report 2016, Human Rights Watch claimed that Aquino’s performance when it came to human rights had been “disappointing.”
“Since his election, President Aquino held out the promise of a rights-respecting Philippines for which he has sadly been unable to deliver,” Phelim Kine, deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch, said.
Human Rights Watch said 65 leftist activists, human rights defenders and alleged supporters of communist rebels were killed in the first 10 months of 2015 alone since Aquino rose to power in 2010.
