MANILA, Philippines—Bothered by the slow response of the Arroyo administration to the Maguindanao massacre, the Commission on Human Rights said Saturday the executive department should move faster and take more decisive action such as immediately suspending Maguindanao Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr. and his son, Zaldy, governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

In a statement Saturday, CHR Chairwoman Leila De Lima also suggested the formation of an independent commission to investigate the massacre, and the issuance of a writ of amparo to protect journalists, investigators and witnesses to the crime.

De Lima argued that the arrest of Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. of Datu Unsay, another son of Apatuan Sr. and a primary suspect in the killings, “raises more questions about what seems to be an overly cautious response by the Executive Department.” She said the arrest was made “rather slowly.”

“There are many options available to the Executive…. We have yet to see the Executive Department explore and apply the remedies of administrative complaints and preventive suspension under the Local Government Code against Governor Ampatuan and various local officials,” De Lima said.

“We hope that the focus on filing murder charges against Ampatuan, Jr. does not remove attention from the other accountabilities of the government which must be addressed,” De Lima said.

One very “glaring omission” by the executive department has to do with the silence of Ampatuan Sr. and Zaldy Ampatuan on the massacre.

“As the local chief executives, they should have initiated the first interventions given that the killings occurred within their jurisdiction. The silence and inaction of the governor, together with the rest of the local officials and police, suggest complicity, if not implicitly condoning the crime,” she said.

De Lima also noted that as local officials in the area, the Ampatuans “failed to order the immediate investigation of the incident, failed to address the public outrage to dispel allegations and categorically deny their involvement in the killings.”

She noted that as local government officials the two Ampatuans are under the supervision of President Macapagal-Arroyo.

“For the Governor's omission to immediately investigate the killings,” De Lima said, “the President can at the very least demand an explanation.”

The CHR head also said the presence of heavy excavation equipment at the scene of the crime owned by the Maguindanao province should have compelled the President herself or through Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno to demand an explanation from Ampatuan Sr.

“How public property could have been used to conceal such brutal and heinous acts requires an immediate explanation from the local government," she said, adding:

“There are several actors who must be held accountable for the massacre and the aftermath of it. This must not be lost in fever-pitch focus on the filing of criminal charges against the alleged mastermind, Mayor Ampatuan, Jr. everyone who directly or indirectly took part in the massacre, including local officials and the police, must be subjected to every remedy under the law.”

De Lima, a lawyer, also said many more of the people who directly participated in the killing are still at large. “While arrests must certainly be more numerous than what we have at the moment, there are other very important figures whose heads must roll.”

In the meantime, De Lima pressed for other “interim measures” that should be taken, including the preventive suspension of the two top local officials.

“We need to ensure that the apparent inability of the local government to address the murders does not lead to an atmosphere prejudicial to the conduct of a proper investigation. We need to remove from power all those who are seen to be subordinate to local political influence and not the rule of law, and we must do this now.”

In a recent dialogue with public-interest lawyers and human rights defenders on Friday in Cagayan De Oro City, De Lima proposed the creation of an independent investigative commission and a more creative application of the Rules on the Writ of Amparo.”

De Lima suggested that the independent commission be composed of legal luminaries, former justices or jurists, members of the academe, NGOs engaged in the advocacy against violence and the like. “The outstanding characteristic of this proposed commission must be that it is independent and insulated from political coercion.”

She said the writ of amparo may be used to protect journalists, investigators and witnesses involved in the aftermath of the Maguindanao Massacre.

“Although the Rules on the Writ of Amparo have been used almost exclusively in cases of alleged killings and abductions perpetrated by State security forces, nothing suggests that they may not be used to secure the safety of journalists, investigators and witnesses involved in the Maguindanao Massacre.”

The CHR is preparing to consult with legal experts on the proposed ad hoc commission and the application of the Writ of Amparo in relation to the Maguindanao Massacre.