Killing of NPA leader's daughter may be a war crime, underscores need
for Int'l Humanitarian Law - Gordon

Independent Senator Richard J. Gordon today underscored the urgency for Congress to pass a measure penalizing crimes against International Humanitarian Law (IHL) under domestic courts with the killing of a daughter of a communist leader.

If the killing of Rebelyn Pitao was connected to her being a daughter of New People's Army commander Leoncio Pitao, Gordon said it is more urgent to pass the IHL bill that would punish such acts under domestic courts.

"Whether or not the killing of Rebelyn Pitao is related to her father's involvement with the NPA, we should not tolerate such an atrocious act. However, this incident highlights the need to enjoin the country to International Humanitarian Law," he said.

Rebelyn, a 20-year-old teacher at St. Peter College in Toril, Davao City, was forcibly taken by unidentified armed men on March 4. The next day, her body was found floating on a river bearing torture marks.

Under Senate Bill 2669 he is sponsoring, Gordon pointed out that Rebelyn's killing may be considered a war crime defined as an act of violence to life and person, in particular murder, committed against persons taking no active part in hostilities.

According to him, the IHL is a set of rules that seek, for humanitarian reasons, a limit to the effects of armed conflict such that persons who are not or are no longer participating in hostilities are protected and the means and methods of warfare are restricted.

He added that the Senate bill would codify IHL within the country's legal system that would penalize and deny "safe havens" for those who committed war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity.

"A crime is a crime. When we adopt international law as part of the law of the land, it reinforces our position that we are a humanitarian country which respects the rights of people even in the midst of armed conflict," Gordon said.

"In other words, we are drawing a face of our country that we are a country that is firmly ensconced in humanitarian law," he added.

Gordon also said that the measure includes a non-prescription clause which states that crimes defined and penalized under the bill, their prosecution, and the execution of sentences imposed on their account, shall not be subject to any prescription.