Philippines: Shifting Patterns of Political Violence Defy Old Stereotypes

The release of an Amnesty International report in August focused attention on an 'intensifying pattern' of political killings in the Philippines, particularly of left wing activists. According to Amnesty, there were at least 244 such assassinations since President Gloria Arroyo took office in January 2001. Compared with 66 political killings in 2005, the tempo accelerated to at least 51 through the first half of 2006. The Philippine human rights group Karapatan provides even more alarming statistics, claiming there have been over 700 politically motivated murders under Arroyo. Arroyo's critics have long likened her to late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, and although the scale of extrajudicial executions does not yet parallel the darkest days of his martial law regime (1972-86), it does now surpass anything seen since its early aftermath under President Corazon Aquino (1986-92). In the worst year of the Marcos regime, 1984, 538 political killings were recorded; but the average annual figure under the dictatorship was about 185. If current trends continue, this year's tally may come disturbingly close to the Marcos average.