Such special bodies have had mixed success worldwide

MANILA, Philippines—Twenty-four years after President Corazon Aquino launched the first Philippine truth commission in 1986, her son, President Benigno Aquino lll, has launched his own.

Corazon’s commission, called the Presidential Committee on Human Rights, was to investigate the human rights abuses of the Marcos dictatorship from 1972 to 1986.

It was along mainstream truth commission lines. 

Truth commissions are generally understood to be bodies set up to investigate past history of violation of human rights in a particular country.

Later on, a number of truth commissions to investigate corruption were set up, such as in Kenya to investigate 2008 corruption and massacre of political opponents, or the one in Honduras in 2009 to investigate allegations of massive government corruption and a coup plot.

The 1986 Philippine commission was among the earlier ones. Before that, starting in 1974, there were the truth commissions to investigate human rights violations in Uganda, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, and Zimbabwe.

After the Philippines, more than 20 countries set up truth commissions; the best known may have been the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 1995, chaired by Nobel Laureate Desmond Tutu.  

The Cory commission was chaired by the late Senator Jose W. Diokno, who quit in Jan. 22, 1987, in protest over the Mendiola massacre, where 15 farmers demanding genuine agrarian reform died in an otherwise peaceful rally.

Diokno died Feb. 27, 1987, age 65, of cancer, in his home in New Manila, Quezon City. No report has been issued by this committee.

First executive order

On July 30, 2010, President Benigno Aquino III signed his first executive order, creating the commission to search for the truth on the alleged corruption during the nine-year rule of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. (Read: Aquino's 1st EO: Probe GMA)

The focus is on big-time corruption, with a deadline of Dec. 31, 2012, but this may be extended.

Aquino can include cases in other past administrations through a supplemental order.

In a briefing before the Malacañang press corps, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima and Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda said that the commission, to be chaired by former Supreme Court Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr., with four other members, will have coercive powers, can subpoena witnesses, and have access to documents.

The findings of the commission will be submitted to the Office of the President, Congress, and the Ombudsman for appropriate action.

The commission will draft rules of procedure to ensure maximum effectiveness, De Lima said.

Effectiveness questioned

Despite the prevalence of the truth commission phenomenon worldwide, there is no clear understanding of their effectiveness, experts say.

Most lessons come from a relatively small number of cases, according to Eric Brahm of the Conflict Research Consortium at the University of Colorado in the United States.

Still, they are intuitively appealing and have many supporters from global civil society.

They have alternative, inherent benefits of their own and should not be seen as a second best option to create criminal prosecution, Brahm says.

In order to complete its task, a truth commission must be granted sufficient resources.

The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission, for example, was given a staff of 300 and a budget of $18 million per year for its two-and-half years of existence, Brahm points out.

The Aquino administration, anxious to succeed against corruption, can learn from past mistakes of truth commissions at home and abroad. The critics and supporters are waiting for the results. (Newsbreak)

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