Philippine killings probe blames military -paper

MANILA, Jan 30 (Reuters) - An inquiry created by the Philippine government has found that soldiers were responsible for the majority of murders of hundreds of leftwing activists, a local newspaper reported on Tuesday.

The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted the head of the inquiry, retired supreme court justice Jose Melo, as saying military commanders should be held responsible for the shootings in their areas of duty.

"Some of the killings were attributed to politicians, some to the security guards of landlords but (the) majority of the killings pointed to these military elements," Melo was quoted as saying in a telephone interview.

"But we don't want to tag the whole military establishment, only elements of the military who were allowed to do their thing without supervision from higher officers."

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo created the Melo Commission last year after rights groups, including Amnesty International, said the shootings could be linked to some members of the security forces.

Arroyo has denied any official involvement in the killings but has not yet made any comment on the inquiry.

The military and government has previously blamed communist rebels for the recent surge in killings, saying the New People's Army was purging its ranks as it did in the 1980s.

Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Sergio Apostol told reporters on Sunday the Melo Commission's recommendation would help the armed forces conduct its own probe into the involvement of the military in the killings.

Local human rights group Karapatan has said more than 700 leftists activists, farmers, community organisers and journalists have been killed since Arroyo came to power in 2001. (Additional reporting by Karen Lema)