Responding to the Philippine government’s request for technical assistance in the area of human rights, the European Commission (EC) has pegged in 3.9 million euros or approximately p270 million to jumpstart a program that will address issues of extrajudicial killings in the country.

EC head of delegation to the Philippines Ambassador Alistair MacDonald and Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita signed yesterday the Financing Agreement for the EU - Philippine Justice Support Programme (EPJUST), in which the EC has allocated P3.9 million or approximately P270 million, which will run for one and a half years.

The program aims to provide support, advice, technical assistance and training in areas such as strengthening the criminal justice system, including investigation, prosecution, and judiciary; providing support for the Commission on Human Rights and civil society groups working in this area, including human rights awareness training for the police and military.

The program also includes support for the establishment of a credible and effective national monitoring system, which will bring together all Philippine stakeholders to help track the nation’s progress in addressing this issue.  Initial activities under the program are expected to begin before the end of the year and end by March 2011.

“The European Union (EU) has been happy to respond positively to the [Philippine] Government’s request to provide technical assistance to help the Philippines address the question of extra-legal or extra-judicial killings,” MacDonald said, adding that the program hopes to bring an end to extra-legal killings and enforced disappearances of political activists, journalists, trades unionists or farmers’ representatives.

“While the incidence of these killings has declined significantly since 2007, it is regrettable that there are so few convictions in relation to the killings of political activists,” he said.

Philippine Human Rights Information Center executive director Dr. Nymia Pimentel Simbulan said that in 2001, there had been 830 cases of arbitrary arrest involving 2,913 individuals; 248 cases of torture; 23 cases of enforced disappearance and abduction, and 231 political prisoners.

“Today’s signature of the Financing Agreement confirms the willingness of the EU and of the Republic of the Philippines to work together even in sensitive areas such as governance, reflecting the spirit of partnership which we have built up over the years,” MacDonald said.

The EU and the Philippines has just ended Wednesday its second round of negotiations on the proposed Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA), agreeing to cooperate in the area of disaster management, peace process, internally displaced persons, and the development aspects of migration.