HUMAN rights monitors said President Benigno Aquino failed to deliver on his campaign pledge to end a culture of impunity, a year into his rule.

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said in separate reports that political killings, abductions and torture, many of them blamed on the security forces, continued since Aquino took office on June 30 last year.

In particular, they cited Aquino’s failure to curb traffic in unlicensed guns and his refusal to disband paramilitary forces that help the regular security forces, amid charges certain politicians used them as private armies.

“One year on... genuinely effective measures to investigate and prosecute those responsible for serious human rights violations by the military and police have fallen short,” New York-based Human Rights Watch said.

Despite evidence of military involvement in some of these cases, police investigations have stalled and they have failed to arrest suspects, it added.

Both watchdogs took note of reforms put in place by Aquino, such as improvements in the witness protection program and investigative procedures.

However, Aquino failed to establish accountability among his own officers, said Aurora Parong, country director for London-based Amnesty.

“Aquino has shown that human rights are still not a priority for his administration,” Parong said in a statement.