MANILA.- Without an Unequivocal condemnation of political killings; the Arroyo administration's pro-life stance falls short of the ideal, militant groups said.

While President Macapagal-Arroyo's act of commuting all death sentences had a seemingly humanitarian face, her administration was on a "murderous rampage" against militant groups, said the left-leaning group Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas.

The KMP cited the wave of killings in the Visayas and Luzon of political activists, many of whom were leaders of leftist organizations.

The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) challenged Ms Arroyo to also "lift the virtual death sentence on activists and progressives."

It is untenable, Bayan said, that Ms Arroyo "sees only the plight of convicts but not the scores of activists killed outside prisons."

Bayan believes that some sectors inside the Armed Forces are behind the killing of their civilian organizers in the countryside.

It also believes that the Arroyo administration knows of these rights violations since it has yet to condemn the assassinations of militants.

"We challenge her to stop the death squads roaming the countryside and victimizing political opponents of the regime," said Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes Jr.

KMP information officer Carl Ala accused the President of trying to divide the opposition by her wholesale commutation of death sentences as she was well aware that her opponents differed on capital punishment.

In a text message, Ala said the real reason behind Ms Arroyo's decision to spare the lives of more than 1,200 death row convicts was to divert the clamor for her resignation.

"It is a divide-and-rule tactic meant to drive a wedge between the anti-Arroyo forces because they have divergent views on death penalty," Ala said.