The human rights situation in the Philippines has been deteriorating (it has been before, but has declined at an even more alarming rate right now) ever since the current president took office.

President Rodrigo Duterte’s murderous “war on drugs,” ongoing since he took office in June 2016, continued to target mostly impoverished Filipinos in urban areas. The police and unidentified gunmen linked to the police have committed thousands of extrajudicial executions. The killings increased dramatically during the Covid-19 lockdown, rising by over 50 percent during April to July 2020 compared to the previous four months. There has been almost total impunity for these killings.

In June 2020, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) published a highly critical report on the human rights situation in the Philippines. (1)

Threats and attacks, including killings, against left-wing political activists, environmental activists, community leaders, Indigenous peoples’ leaders, journalists, lawyers, and others rose in recent years. The government harassed journalists and media companies, including through politically motivated prosecutions and other legal action; a court convicted journalist (now a recipient of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize) Maria Ressa of cyber libel, while the government also shut down the country’ largest television network.

We are strongly alarmed in the way that those who are at the forefront for the defense, promotion and protection of human rights have become the targets of unwarranted and malicious acts of state reprisals. This form of judicial harassment indicates the shameless manner by which government can abuse legal and judicial processes to render punitive actions against human rights defenders.

We demand accountability, justice to those involved, and the resignation of these shameless individuals in positions of power who have shown nothing but incompetence and ineptitude in their time in office, and continue to do so without a hint of remorse.

Reference:
(1) World Report 2021: Philippines | Human Rights Watch

Photo Credits:
Human Rights Protest, PH