17. Command Responsibility
When asked about his concept of command responsibility, General Esperon stated that it means that a commander is responsible for what his men do or fail to do in terms of accomplishing the mission. It does not include criminal liability of the superior if his men or subordinates commit an illegal act that is criminal in nature. Only the subordinate should be liable for the criminal act and not the superior commander. The commander is responsible only for acts he authorized.
In relation to reported abuses allegedly committed by Gen. Palparan, Gen. Esperon said that these are only accusations and that no complaints were filed. Moreover, he reiterated that the matter is left to be investigated by Task Force Usig and the Commission.
18. Actions that may be undertaken by the AFP to prevent extrajudicial killings
When asked what the AFP is doing to prevent extrajudicial killings, General Esperon simply mentioned that the AFP has its rules on engagement and that the AFP conducts courses which have a module on human rights and there are several publications to reinforce AFPs observance of human rights.
Atty. Vinluan suggested that in order to stop extrajudicial killings, the military should correct the impression that left wing organizations, such as Bayan Muna, Gabriela, and Anak Pawis, are fronts of the CPP-NPA. Gen. Esperon countered that Satur Ocampo should denounce the NPA. By doing so, the AFP will know that previous members of the CPP-NPA have truly severed their relations with the underground.
General Esperon, at this point, presented to the Commission copies of the following books:
?Breaking Through by Joel Rocamora Exhibit J
?Suffer Thy Comrades by Robert Francis Garcia Exhibit K
?The Philippine Revolutionary Movement Combining Armed and Legal Struggles by Luis Jalandoni Exhibit L
19. Coordination with Task force Usig
Gen. Esperon said that AFPs lack of coordination with Task Force Usig is intentional as it did not want to influence the latters report. Further, coordination between the two bodies might be misconstrued. However, Gen. Esperon added that just the morning he testified, he requested Gen. Razon to furnish the AFP with a report so that it can be used as a basis for its own actions.
He said that is it possible that the evaluation of Task Force Usig may be different from the evaluation of the AFP. However, in the end, it will be the courts which will decide should cases be filed.
20. AFPs goal of beating the NPA by 2010 as reported in the Philippine Star
Gen. Esperon declined to discuss the operational details on how to defeat the NPA. However, he said that AFP will give developmental activities to communities and try to win the hearts and minds of the people similar to the case of Bohol. Gen. Esperon explained that due to the efforts of the military, Bohol is now free of roaming NPAs and has become a tourist spot. He added that the people of Bohol like Gen. Palparan.
21. Summary/Notable Matters:
a. The AFP did not conduct any formal investigation of suspects, but admits a rise in reported killings.
b. General Esperon is convinced that the recent activist and journalist killings were carried out by the CPP-NPA as part of a purge. Captured documents supposedly prove this. The full contents or a copy of the documents, however, were not presented to the Commission.
c. Likewise, General Esperon was firm in his position that the victims were members of the CPP/NPA and that the activist organizations, while legal, are infiltrated by the CPP-NPA. He stated that these organizations are being manipulated by the NPA.
d. Gen. Esperon admitted receiving reports about Palparan being suspected of conducting extrajudicial killings, being called Berdugo, etc. but he attributed this to propaganda of CPP/NPA.
e. General Esperon admitted that no formal investigation was conducted by the AFP on General Palparan, simply because no complaint was filed. He mentioned that he merely called General Palparan on his cellphone and did not go beyond the latters denials.
Extrajudicial Killings, Melo Commission Report on Extrajudicial Killings
