US embassy cable - 05MANILA3754

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANILA 003754 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/PMBS, DRL/CRA, INR/EAP 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/15/2015 
TAGS: PHUM, PGOV, PINR, SOCI, PREL, RP 
SUBJECT: UPTICK IN EXTRA-JUDICIAL KILLINGS IN DAVAO AND CEBU 
 
REF: A. MANILA 1774 
     B. MANILA 1253 
     C. MANILA 0587 
     D. MANILA 0312 
     E. MANILA 0129 
 
Classified By: Political Officer Timothy Cipullo for 
Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1.  (SBU) Summary:  Extra-judicial killings of suspected 
criminals in Davao and Cebu are on the increase.  So far, 137 
have been slain this year in Davao and 77 in Cebu.   No 
arrests have been made.  The killings appear to have spread 
to other localities:  there have been several recent slayings 
in the Cebu Province towns of Toledo and Carcar.  The 
killings seem very popular with the publics in Davao and 
Cebu, although human rights groups and the Catholic Church 
continue to condemn them.  Mission continues to urge respect 
for the rule of law, and the apprehension and prosecution of 
those responsible.  End Summary. 
 
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Uptick in Davao Killings 
------------------------ 
 
2.  (U) The number of vigilante-style executions of suspected 
drug pushers and other alleged criminals has increased in the 
cities of Davao in Mindanao and Cebu in the central Visayan 
region.  Kabataan Consortium, a Davao City-based human rights 
advocacy group and founding member of the Coalition Against 
Summary Executions (CASE), has documented 137 cases of 
summary executions in Davao City from January to August 2005. 
 This surpasses the number of such killings by suspected 
members of the "Davao Death Squad" or "DDS" for the entire 
year of 2004, when vigilantes murdered 104 suspected 
criminals, according to Kabataan Consortium.  (Note:  The DDS 
is a shadowy vigilante group that apparently has carried out 
the bulk of the killings.)  Based on what Mission has heard, 
the killings remain popular among Davao citizens. 
 
3.  (U) As of August 15, authorities have not filed a single 
case related to the killings in Davao in 2005.  Two cases 
filed last year were both dismissed because relatives of the 
victims withdrew their complaints.  In June 2005, the wing of 
the Office of the Ombudsman responsible for Mindanao ordered 
a six-month suspension of a former police chief and three 
precinct commanders in Davao for alleged negligence, 
inefficiency, and incompetence in failing to solve cases of 
summary executions within the Davao jurisdiction.  However, 
the Court of Appeals on July 4 issued a temporary restraining 
order that reinstated the four while their case is reviewed 
on appeal.  Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte publicly defended the 
four men and has set up a legal defense fund to assist them. 
 
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More Slayings in Cebu 
--------------------- 
 
4.  (C) In the meantime, according to contacts and media 
sources, the number of extra-judicial killings in Cebu City 
has risen to 77, as of August 2 -- an increase of 36 since 
April 2005 (see ref a).  (Note:  The killings in Cebu 
basically began in December 2004.  There was no previous 
pattern of extra-judicial killings in the locality.  End 
Note.)  Observers blame the killings on a special squad of 
police officers purportedly tasked to go after criminal 
elements in the city, called the "hunter team."  The team was 
formed by Cebu Mayor Tommy Osmena in December 2004 (see ref 
e).  A wave of criticism by lawyers and civil society groups, 
led by Ricardo Cardinal Vidal of Cebu, prompted Director 
General of the Philippine National Police (PNP) General 
Arturo Lomibao to promise in April that the police would 
investigate all such cases.  Lomibao also formed a task force 
to look into the situation, which reportedly has not yet 
completed its investigation.  Nonetheless, as in Davao, all 
of the killings this year in Cebu remain unsolved.  John 
Domingo, the U.S. Consular Agent in Cebu (Amcit -- pls 
protect), told Acting Pol/C on August 12 that the killings 
remain very popular with the Cebu public, despite the 
criticism.  He said average Cebuanos feel that street crime 
has gone way down due to the killings and they appreciate 
that. 
 
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A Spreading Problem? 
-------------------- 
 
5.  (SBU) The practice of executing suspected criminals 
appears to have recently spread from Cebu City to the 
neighboring localities of Toledo and Carcar, also located on 
Cebu island.  In early August two suspected drug dealers were 
gunned down in Toledo and a suspected criminal was killed by 
motorcycle-riding gunmen in Carcar (the same modus operandi 
of many of the killings in Cebu City).  Fearing that the wave 
of killings has spread outside of Cebu City, Cebu Governor 
Gwendolyn Garcia ordered the police to look into the killings 
and to submit a report on steps they will take to prevent the 
escalation of vigilante-style killings in Cebu Province. 
(Note:  Cebu City is a self-governing municipality outside of 
the jurisdiction of Cebu Province.  End Note.) 
 
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Comment 
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6.  (C) As noted, despite the criticism of human rights 
groups and the Catholic Church, the killings seem very 
popular with the publics in Davao and Cebu.  Mayors Duterte 
and Osmena clearly condone the killings -- which have not 
hurt their political standing in the slightest and apparently 
given them some bounce in popularity (though Osmena 
reportedly remains a generally unpopular mayor for other 
reasons).  Davao, the largest city in Mindanao, has faced 
this sort of recurring violence for some time.  It is a new 
phenomenon for Cebu, however, which is the Philippines' 
second largest city and a major trade entrepot.  Moreover, 
Cebu heretofore had a positive reputation as a city that 
respected the rule of law and human rights.  Given the 
example of these two important cities, it seemed only time 
before the killings spread to other places, as seems to be 
the case in Toledo and Carcar. 
 
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