US deports Pinoy agent tagged in human rights violations

The United States government has deported a Filipino intelligence agent accused of committing human rights violations in the Philippines.

In a statement, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement ( ICE) said it deported Regor Cadag Aguilar, 42, on Feb. 10 by virtue of an order of a San Francisco immigration judge.

ICE said Aguilar, who entered the US 15 years ago and overstayed his visitor’s visa, was arrested by members of the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers in Union City on Jan. 15.

The agency, which is under the US Department of Homeland Security, said Aguilar acknowledged working as a surveillance agent for a law enforcement task force in the Philippines that targeted rival political figures from 1998 to 2001.

“While he maintained he was unaware of the task force’s illegal activities at the time, Aguilar testified he knew that one of his surveillance targets disappeared and was presumed dead,” read the statement.

“He further testified that his superiors informed him that other members of the task force relied on his surveillance to abduct and murder a political figure. Aguilar also testified that he heard superiors order task force members to torture abducted individuals,” it added.

The ICE did not identify the task force to which Aguilar belonged.

But Carlos Conde, who works for the Asia division of Human Rights Watch, noted that the pattern of abuses of the unnamed task force mirrors that of the Presidential AntiOrganized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF), formed in 1998 by then president Joseph Estrada and disbanded by president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2001.

“PAOCTF has been implicated in unlawful surveillance of members of the political opposition, judges and journalists. It allegedly carried out warrantless arrests and crimes such as kidnapping and murder,” Conde said.

He urged Philippine authorities to use the evidence that prompted Aguilar’s deportation to investigate the allegations against him.

“More importantly, the Philippine government should investigate and appropriately prosecute current and former government and security force officials implicated in past abuses,” he said.

“The routine failure to prosecute serious abuses – including extrajudicial killings, torture and enforced disappearances – makes it more likely those abuses will continue in future administrations,” he pointed out.

“The Philippines is slated to hold presidential elections in May. Pursuing justice for human rights abuses should be a priority of the next president, not just a response to the efforts of foreign police investigators,” he added.