KEY POINTS:
Prime Minister Helen Clark has raised the Philippines' human rights record during talks with the country's president, Gloria Arroyo.
The pair met last night in the Philippines city of Cebu, before today's East Asia Summit, which brings together 16 leaders from the Asia-Pacific region.
Local human rights groups,
and some family members of the victims of a recent wave of execution-style killings asked to meet Helen Clark during her time in the Philippines, but she refused.
Marie Hilao-Enriquez, a spokeswoman for the umbrella rights group Karapatan, said they wanted to express their concerns about the killings of more than 800 activists and journalists in the past five years.
But the Prime Minister did raise the issues of detentions and killings with Mrs Arroyo.
After the meeting she said she had been assured that proper legal and judicial processes were being followed in the case of opposition lawmaker Crispin Beltran, who has been in custody for about a year.
Mrs Arroyo had also said that a commission set up to investigate the spree of killings would get to the bottom of the matter.
Helen Clark said the New Zealand Government would now investigate what support it could give to human rights organisations in the Philippines.
She and Mrs Arroyo also discussed a police memorandum of understanding and an air services agreement between the two countries.
The Philippines Government has denied involvement in the killings, but Ms Hilao-Enriquez said victims' family members were in no doubt who had executed them.
The military claimed those killed were members of insurgent groups, but most were members of legal organisations involved in legitimate anti-Government protest action.
"These were people exercising their democratic rights."
Green Party MP Keith Locke said the Philippines' human rights record was the second-worst in Asia, behind that of China.
Mr Locke said the detention of opposition lawmakers was also an important issue.
One MP and former unionist was in custody and five others faced possible charges relating to a claimed failed coup plot in March.
Helen Clark raised the detentions in a meeting with Mrs Arroyo in March.
Today, she and the 15 other heads of state at the East Asia Summit will sign a declaration aimed at boosting energy efficiency and cutting reliance on fossil fuels.
Energy, education, finance, bird flu and readiness for disaster are on the summit's agenda.
Security in Cebu is extremely tight, with 8000 troops and police patrolling the streets and military helicopters circling, after several governments, including those of Australia and Britain, issued warnings of a planned terrorist strike.
The East Asia summit groups the 10 members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) with New Zealand, Australia, India, China, Japan and South Korea.
Before the summit Asean leaders agreed to write a European Union-style charter to take effect by 2015.
It is envisaged that other summit nations will eventually be able to join the bloc.
- NZPA
