It begs the question.

Human rights violations, which happened with clockwork regularity during martial law, did not stop under the first Aquino administration, which was supposed to restore democratic institutions.

This was in spite of the fact that one of the very first official acts of President Corazon C. Aquino was to create the Commission on Human Rights, first headed by the late Opposition Sen. Jose W. Diokno.   

Quite ironically, the infamous Mendiola Massacre happened during the watch of President Corazon C. Aquino, hailed worldwide as a democracy icon.

Now that her son, Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III, is the current President, HR cases are not diminishing; they are, in fact, again becoming commonplace.

For all the official affirmation of its commitment to the Tuwid na Daan doctrine that catapulted him to the highest office in the land, P-Noy has not been able to rein in HR violations by state security forces and paramilitary forces   

The New York-based Human Rights Watch has  lamented that the President’s valiant promises to stem the rampant HR violations have remained just that and said it could show its resolve by arresting a high- ranking retired military officer accused of kidnapping militant students.

After a year and a half in office, the Aquino administration made little progress in addressing impunity, with extrajudicial killings still taking place, the HRW said in its World Report 2012 where it assessed various countries’ achievements, or lack thereof, in protecting HR.

HRW also said the government failed to acknowledge the involvement of security forces in those crimes, adding that the government should now make these forces accountable for their role in killings and  disable  abusive paramilitary forces as well.

At the same time, the group called on the administration to arrest retired major general Jovito Palparan, who stands accused of kidnapping two militant university students. Palparan is the highest-ranking military officer to be charged for HR abuses since 1986.

“The arrest and prosecution of Palparan would be the most significant move against impunity for military abuses in the last decade,” HRW deputy Asia director Elaine Pearson was quoted by a major broadsheet as saying  in a separate statement.

“But the government should be more pro-active in investigating killings and torture, arresting suspects, and vigorously prosecuting them,” Pearson added.

In its report, HRW said key institutions in the country, including the Judiciary and law-enforcement agencies, are still weak, noting that  the military and the police violate people’s rights with impunity.

The New People’s Army, Islamist groups, and other armed opposition forces also abuse civilians. Incidents of extrajudicial killings continue, it added.

It noted that the President has pleaded for patience, saying that his administration is working overtime to prevent new cases of HR violations and solve earlier ones.

“Yet despite promises of reform, his administration has made little progress in addressing impunity. Extrajudicial killings of leftist activists and petty criminals continue, with the government failing to acknowledge and address involvement by the security forces and local officials,” it said in its report.

“His administration will ultimately be measured by what it achieves, not by his stated intentions,” Pearson also said.