THE National Police is taking an active role in the case monitoring and tracking efforts of Task Force 211, or the Task Force Against Political Violence, created by President Arroyo through Administrative Order 211.

The National Police chief, Director General Avelino Razon Jr. said the National Police, through its the Human Rights Affairs Office (Hrao) and Task Force Usig, will provide data for the efficient case tracking and monitoring of every incident of political violence to ensure the successful prosecution of cases.

“We fully support Task Force 211 in its mission to render justice in all cases of political violence. For our part, we assure swift action on all complaints and assistance to the victims,” Razon said.

He said that aside from case monitoring and law enforcement assistance to the prosecution of cases of political violence, the National Police is also deeply involved in the national advocacy campaign on respect for human rights.

“My marching orders from President Arroyo is to make human rights the legacy of my administration,” Razon said.

The National Police activated its Human Rights Affairs Office in June under Senior Supt. Lina Sarmiento to serve as a management facility that will oversee the implementation of the guidelines and policies on human rights.

“Guided by international and domestic instruments on human rights, the National Police is implementing operational policies to help make every police officer aware, conscious, and sensitive to upholding human dignity and the highest principles of human rights,” Razon said.

The Hrao is now establishing human-rights desks in all regional, provincial, city and town police offices, including national support units.

Among the other projects and activities of Hrao to prevent and control human-rights violations in the police organization are the regular inventory and inspection of detention facilities in stations and offices, installation of image and video recording systems inside investigation rooms and closer coordination with the Commission on Human Rights.

The Davao City Council meanwhile moved to ask the United Nations Human Rights Council to “invalidate” the report of its special rapporteur, and to especially strike out the distinct reference to the city where minors were included in the target of anticriminality killings by vigilante groups.

Councilor Danilo Dayanghirang, a proponent of the resolution, protested the mention of this city in the report of Philip Alston, UN special rapporteur, who Dayanghirang said had concluded “that the government of Davao, particularly the city mayor, does nothing to stop the killings.”

“We shall appeal to the UN to invalidate the Alston report, because it is baseless and [tainted with] politics,” Dayanghirang told the BusinessMirror.

He said it was unlikely for Alston to get an accurate picture of the human-rights situation in the city “with only two days here.”

“Ten days of observation in the country and two days in the city are not enough for Philip Alston to conclude that the government of Davao, particularly the city mayor, does nothing to stop the killings in Davao City,” he said, in the introductory part of his resolution. (With M. Cayon)

City officials, Public Works executives in graft cases

THE Ombudsman for the Visayas on Wednesday filed graft charges against Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Arturo Radaza and other city officials for the alleged overpriced purchase of personal computer sets and 10 regional officials of the Public Works department for alleged irregularities in the acquisition of surveillance cameras used during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit in Cebu in January.

VEHICULAR traffic in Metro Manila remained normal but leaders of militant groups that declared the nationally coordinated protest actions on Thursday said the transport strike was “successful” even before they started.

WITH its 2007 collection at risk of not being attained due to reduced imports and exports attributed to the strong peso, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) can console itself this Christmas with its 2006 performance that got it a huge P539-million reward for exceeding its given target of P197 billion by P2.2 billion.

FOR uniting a politically fragmented nation during his fights, boxing sensation Manny Pacquiao was named Ambassador of Peace, along with nine others, Wednesday night at the Quirino Grandstand during the launching of the Global Peace Festival, an international initiative that seeks to forge world peace.

THE National Police is taking an active role in the case monitoring and tracking efforts of Task Force 211, or the Task Force Against Political Violence, created by President Arroyo through Administrative Order 211.

THE Senate moved to reprimand Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales, Armed Forces chief Hermogenes Esperon and National Police chief Avelino Razon for snubbing an invitation to testify at an inquiry into the “warrantless arrests” of journalists who covered the November 29 Peninsula Manila Hotel standoff.

THE Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC) on Thursday demanded the payment of more than P700 million in unpaid allowances following Malacañang’s announcement of a P10,000 performance bonus each to government workers.