‘Not much has changed for the better:’ Rights group presents ‘grim’ picture of PH human rights

Mike Navallo, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Marcos Duterte" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/tvpatrol/03/16/marcos-duterte.jpg"/></figure></div>MANILA — A full year and a half into the Marcos, Jr. administration, a Philippine-based human rights group said Thursday “not much has changed for the better” since President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. took over from former President Rodrigo Duterte.“The Marcos, Jr. administration has adopted the Duterte regime’s repressive policies, many of which continue to harm and endanger human rights defenders and ordinary citizens alike,” Prof. Nymia Pimentel-Simbulan, executive director of the NGO Philippines Human Rights Information Center (PhilRights) said at a press conference for the launch of the group’s “Pitik-Mulat” report.“With Marcos, Jr.’s ascent to power, the promise of a shift from this violent legacy remains unfulfilled as extrajudicial killings and state-sanctioned violence persist, casting shadows on any pretense of accountability and respect for human rights,” she added.Duterte’s 6-year term has been marked by thousands of drug war suspects allegedly killed for violently resisting arrest. That led to a probe by the International Criminal Court (ICC).<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/war-on-drugs">War on Drugs, The Unheard Voices 1 There’s no rage, but we hear the whimper</a></li></ul>Marcos pledged a more humane approach to solving the drug problem but PhilRights noted, 438 extrajudicial killings (EJKs) have been recorded by the University of the Philippines-based Dahas project from July 2022 to October 2023.Amid an alleged rift between the Marcoses and the Dutertes, Marcos and Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla recently changed tune from initially opposing the entry into the country of ICC investigators to being open to studying the issue.What is clear to the families of EJK victims, Simbulan said, is that leading figures under the Duterte regime “remain unaccountable for severe human rights violations.”“While Marcos, Jr. is currently recalibrating its administration’s decision to cooperate with the International Criminal Court on its ongoing investigation into the drug war killings, families remain uncertain whether this commitment to pursue justice is genuine or merely a political maneuver to mitigate divisions and save face,” she explained.Simbulan expressed concern over reports they received that law enforcement agents allegedly visited families of drug war victims who complained to the ICC, supposedly to ask for more documents and to ask them to sign a waiver to desist from pursuing the case.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/07/19/23/how-the-iccs-ph-drug-war-probe-was-almost-lost-on-the-issue-of-jurisdiction">How the ICC&#x27;s PH drug war probe was almost lost on the issue of jurisdiction</a></li></ul>“So medyo nabagabag kami kasi paano nalaman nitong mga taong ito na nagsasabing sila ay NBI agents or members of law enforcement agents, yung pangalan at yung tirahan. So they must have gotten a list or information from certain reliable sources,” she said.<div>OTHER KILLINGS AND ATTACKS</div>Aside from alleged EJKs in the drug war, the group also pointed out that during Marcos, Jr.’s term, rights alliance Karapatan documented 80 incidents of EJKs from different sectoral groups under the government’s anti-insurgency operations.PhilRights blamed the Duterte-era “whole of nation” approach in addressing the communist insurgency, as embodied by the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), which has been accused of red-tagging activists, rights defenders, lawyers, journalists and other critics of the government.“Despite the growing clamor for abolishing the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), its massive budget is maintained. And 21 out of 22 executive departments are incorporated into the task force with Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte designated as the co-Vice Chairperson,” Simbulan said.The younger Duterte recently publicly criticized the Marcos, Jr. administration’s announcement to go back to the negotiating table with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), calling the peace talks an “agreement with the devil.”Philippine Alliance for Human Rights (PAHRA) secretary general Rommel Yamzon said NTF-ELCAC was formed solely to link government critics to the communist insurgency.“Ito’y ginamit na isang propaganda ng gobyerno natin para i-demonize yung mga human rights defenders natin na lehitimong kumikilos para doon sa kagalingan ng mga maliliit. Kumbaga kasi, yung panahon na na-establish yun, parang one plus one yung ginawa e. Pag aktibista ka, rebelde ka. Pag rebelde ka, terorista ka, kalaban ka ng estado,” he said.The two both called for NTF-ELCAC’s abolition but while that is not happening yet, they welcomed moves at the House of Representatives to pass a bill seeking to protect workers against red-tagging and union-busting.House Bill No. 9294, which was approved on second reading last month, intends to protect rights of workers to join labor unions and includes a prohibition against red-tagging.A similar provision against red-tagging is also included in the Human Rights Defenders Protection bill, also pending before the lower House.“On one hand, mayroong mga legislators na nagrerecognize na red-tagging is wrong, that red-tagging is illegal. But here you have the NTF-ELCAC recognizing that red-tagging is a positive development…Kung mayroong legislators na itinutulak yung ganitong panukala tapos meron ding mga tao ng gobyerno na kokontrahin yung ganitong panukala, saan tayo dadamputin?,” Simbulan asked, urging government officials to get their acts together.The group also called attention to attacks in the countryside, citing data from Karapatan:<ul>	<li>7,712 documented victims of indiscriminate firings</li>	<li>6,931 victims of bombings or shellings</li>	<li>13,905 victims of forced evacuations </li>	<li>1,582,000 plus victims subjected to threats particularly and intimidation</li></ul>During the Marcos, Jr. presidency, PhilRights also noted the number of environmental defenders and journalists killed, making the Philippines the fifth most dangerous place in the world for land and environment defenders and 8th in the 2023 Global Impunity Index.“The weaponization of laws to stifle the media has also continued. The Cybercrime Prevention Act and the anti-libel provisions of Article 355 of the Revised Penal Code were frequently used to file charges against government critics in the media,” Simbulan said.<div>POOR GOVERNANCE</div>Beyond civil and political rights, PhilRights’ report also noted that crisis in food security, oil, transportation and housing, compounded by the economic downturn, plagued the Marcos, Jr. administration. Aside from the high cost of living, the group said one in 10 Filipino families faced involuntary hunger at least once in the third quarter of 2023, citing a survey. The report also found that many Filipinos still grapple with the housing problem with 12,000 experiencing homelessness, 57,000 residing in resettlement areas and 70 million Filipinos living in substandard housing. The group also scored the country’s lack of well-paying jobs, driving an estimated 2 million Filipinos to work abroad while 44.8% of Filipino workers who remain in the country are in the informal economy, exposing them to dirty, dangerous and difficult jobs. PhilRights also expressed concern over the quality of education in the country, citing a World Bank report on 91% learning poverty in the country, which means that 9 of 10 children aged 10 face challenges in reading basic text.It noted, only 2 out of 10 Filipinos reach college.The launch of the Pitik-Mulat report is part of the group’s activities in the lead-up to the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) on December 10.<div>OTHER GROUPS</div>Meanwhile, other groups affiliated with the In Defense of Human Rights and Dignity Movement (iDefend) held a march-parade Thursday at the Quezon Memorial Circle.Wearing sashes reflecting the various rights under the UDHR, the groups handed out posters and Christmas lanterns before convening at the Commission on Human Rights for a brief program.“Tandaan natin, hindi kusang hinahatid sa atin ang ating karapatan, ito’y pinaglalaban, iginigiit, pinalalawak, ipinapagwagi, at tuloy-tuloy na pinagtitibay gamit ang ating pinagsamang tinig, lakas, at pagkilos. Bagamat nariyan na ang deklararasyon, lagi’t-laging tungkulin ang ipaalala laluna sa mga gobyerno ng mundo na ito ay dapat kinikilala, isinasakatuparan, at ipinagtatanggol,” the group said in a statement.iDefend was among the first to sound the alarm and criticize Duterte’s bloody drug war when it started in 2016.Globally, the CIVICUS Monitor released its People Power Under Attach 2023 report classifying civic space in the Philippines as “repressed,” citing the filing of terrorism charges against activitists, the designation as terrorists of indigenous leaders, the forcible disappearance of activists and the killings of journalists and activists.“The main violation the CIVICUS Monitor is witnessing across the Asia-Pacific region is the intimidation of activists, to stifle dissent and create a climate of fear. The number of countries in the region where governments try to block citizens from freely accessing information is also staggering,” said Josef Benedict, CIVICUS Monitor’s Asia-Pacific researcher.“More Asia-Pacific governments cracked down on citizens’ rights in 2023 than allowed free civic space…These governments are flagrantly violating their international obligations,” he added.

A full year and a half into the Marcos, Jr. administration, a Philippine-based human rights group said Thursday “not much has changed for the better.” 

‘Not much has changed for the better:’ Rights group presents ‘grim’ picture of PH human rights | ABS-CBN

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‘Not much has changed for the better:’ Rights group presents ‘grim’ picture of PH human rights

‘Not much has changed for the better:’ Rights group presents ‘grim’ picture of PH human rights

Mike Navallo,

ABS-CBN News

Published Dec 07, 2023 09:20 PM PHT

Read More:

human rights

Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Rodrigo Duterte

war on drugs

ICC

International Criminal Court

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