Local human rights group Karapatan has blamed most of 832 killings since 2001, including the deaths of 356 left-wing activists, on security forces.

The government says the numbers are bloated, and many victims were either communist rebels or their allies killed in the communist movement’s internal purge.

Alston said President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo “needs to persuade the military that its reputation and effectiveness will be considerably enhanced, rather than undermined, by acknowledging the facts and taking genuine steps to investigate."

Alston immediately returned to New York after the press conference to submit his report to the UN human rights commission. He spent 10 days in the Philippines meeting with the military, the leftist organizations and civic groups.

He recommended that Arroyo and the military chief of staff issue a statement saying “extrajudicial executions will not be tolerated, that the (military) will begin to investigate seriously and methodically, and not in a way that simply protects its own officers in any allegations that come before it."

Hours after Alston’s report, the President reluctantly ordered the release to the public copies of the Melo Commission Report on the extra-judicial killings.

Alston is an Australian law professor who is the UN special rapporteur on extra-judicial, summary or arbitrary executions, and executions.

Alston arrived on Feb. 11 on government’s request to investigate the spate of political killings in the country, which the human rights group Karapatan said victimized more than 800 since President Arroyo assumed power in 2001.

The European Union is also conducting a separate probe into the reports of extra-judicial killings.

 The PNP’s Task Force Usig, which was tasked to look into the killings, said it has recorded only a little over 100 cases of political killings.

Alston, in the press briefing before leaving the country, clarified his statements were still initial recommendations and that his final report would be ready in three months to be submitted to the UN Human Rights Council.

Alston said he did not know how many had died, but added: “I am certain the number is high enough to be distressing.

“The impact of even a limited number of killings of the type alleged is corrosive in many ways," he said.

“It intimidates vast numbers of civil society actors, it sends a message of vulnerability to all but the most well-connected, and it severely undermines the political discourse which is central to a resolution of the problems confronting this country."

Alston laid much of the blame on the military which says most of the deaths could be attributed to internal fighting in the communist New People’s Army.

Alston said there must be a “change of mentality” on the part of the government and military and that both must recognize that there is a problem with regard to the increasing number of extra-judicial killings.

He said that while he believes that there is no state policy behind the spate of killings victimizing militants and journalists, some aspects of the government’s counter-insurgency strategy are “conducive” for the killings to take place.

“The response of the government to the crisis of extra-judicial executions varies dramatically. There has been a welcome acknowledgement of the seriousness of the problem at very top. At the executive level the messages have been very mixed and often unsatisfactory. And at the operational level, the allegations have too often met with a response of incredulity, mixed with offense," he said.

Alston made an analogy with alcoholism and said: “The first step to recovery is to acknowledge that there is a problem and without that, there’s nothing that can be done."

The Melo Commission was created by Arroyo in August last year to look into the cases of political killings. The panel, headed by retired Supreme Court Justice Jose Melo, submitted its report to Malacanang on Jan. 30. Melo has said elements in the military were behind many of the killings.

The Palace had refused to make the report public, saying it was still a partial report. Yesterday, the Palace said it is making public the document today.

“I’m not asking for really anything very dramatic. I’d like to see a statement from the very top, a statement by the President, a statement by the defense secretary, a statement by the (AFP) chief of staff that the extra-judicial executions will not be tolerated (and) that the AFP will begin to investigate seriously and methodically and not in a way that simply protects its own officers. It’s a matter of a change of mentality that is most important," he said.

Alston noted the killings are attributable in part to  government’s counter-insurgency strategy that involves vilifying left-leaning organizations and intimidating its leaders.

He said in some cases, the intimidation “escalates into extra-judicial execution."

“Aspects of the counter-insurgency strategy need to be evaluated. And the implication of that is the way in which certain strategies are currently formulated and more importantly being pursued is very conducive to extrajudicial executions," he said.

On the case of Maj. Gen. (ret.) Jovito Palparan, who is being blamed by militants for killings of militants in areas where he has been assigned, Alston said AFP chief Gen. Hermogenes could have done more.

“When the chief of the armed forces contends himself with telephoning General Jovito Palparan in order to satisfy himself on allegations, rather than launching a thorough and impartial probe, it’s clear that there is still a long way to go," Alston said.

Alston also said that the executive branch, aided by the military, has “worked resolutely to circumvent” the essence of the party-list system and the repeal of the Anti-Subversion Act that allowed the left to enter the democratic political system.

“The idea is not to destroy the NPA (New People’s Army) but to eliminate organizations that support many of its goals and do not actively disown its means," he said, noting government is “trying to impede the work of the party-list groups and to put in question their right to operate freely."

Alston also said the evidence offered by the Armed Forces to support its claim that the killings could be part of a purge within the ranks of the communist movement is “especially unconvincing.”

“The AFP relies instead on figures and trends relating to the purges in the late 1980s, and on an alleged CPP-NPA document captured in May 2006 describing Operation Bushfire. In the absence of much stronger supporting evidence, this particular document bears all the hallmark of a fabrication and cannot be taken as evidence of anything other than disinformation," he said.

On the Palace’s withholding of the Melo report, Alston said while Arroyo “showed good faith” in creating the commission, this was “surely drained away by the refusal to publish the report."

Among reasons the Palace cited for considering the report incomplete is the non-cooperation of militant groups and families of victims in the investigations of the Melo Commission, whose life Arroyo has extended.

Alston said: “The justifications given are unconvincing. The report was never intended to be preliminary or interim. The need to get leftists to testify is no reason to withhold a report which in some ways at least vindicates their claims. And extending a commission whose composition has never succeeded in winning full cooperation seems unlikely to cure  the problems still perceived by those groups. Immediate release of the report is an essential first step."

Aside from acknowledging that there is a problem, Alston recommended that government strengthen the witness protection program, re-evaluate the military’s counter-insurgency tactics, restore accountability and accept the need to provide legitimate political space for leftist groups.

Alston acknowledged that the government’s invitation for him is a positive start in solving the problem.

“It is a clear recognition of the gravity of the situation,” he said, adding that the problem is not unique to the Philippines.

The militant group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) said Alston’s statements were a “stinging rebuke” of the government’s “repeated cover-up" of the issue of political killings.

“Human rights victims and cause-oriented groups are relieved that the UN visit yielded something relevant," said Renato Reyes, Bayan secretary general.