Human Rights in The Philippines



The Philippines has a very controversial and violent history in regards to human rights. From martial law being declared to "prevent or suppress...any act of insurrection or rebellion," ("Proclamation No. 1081," 1972), to extra-judicial killings and the suppression of opposing political opponents, the country has a worrying trend that is seemingly leading more and more towards an authoritarian government which subsequently leads to the neglection of human rights in the country. Since taking office in 2016, President Rodrigo Duterte’s murderous “war on drugs,” 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 ("Human Rights Watch," 2021). Killings and other human rights violations continued under the government’s “war on drugs”. On several occasions, President Duterte incited violence against people suspected of using or selling drugs, while promising to protect those who kill them.2 Reports of killings increased in cities where police chiefs who had previously overseen abusive operations were appointed. Based on government data, police killed at least 155 people from April to July, compared to 103 people from December 2019 to March. Killings by unknown individuals, many with suspected links to the police, continued. Victims were overwhelmingly poor ("Philippines 2020," 2020).

Threats, attacks, and killings, against left-wing political activists, environmental activists, community leaders, Indigenous peoples’ leaders, journalists, lawyers, and others rose in the past year. There has been almost total impunity for these killings. In March, the government placed the country under lockdown, restricting people’s movement to limit the spread of Covid-19, using the military, as well as the police and local officials, to enforce the lockdown. Tens of thousands of people were arrested and often detained in crowded jails and holding centers where they were at increased risk of contracting the virus. Police and local officials targeted vulnerable populations, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people and children, and in some cases using public humiliation and cruel treatment. On 10 August 2020, activist and peace advocate Randall Echanis and his neighbour were killed in Metro Manila. A week later, human rights defender Zara Alvarez was shot dead in Bacolod City. Echanis and Alvarez were branded as “terrorists” in a 2018 government list. Other human rights defenders and political activists were arbitrarily detained and faced increased threats and harassment after the government “red-tagged” or linked them to communist armed groups ("Repression of dissent," 2020)

Sources

https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1972/09/21/proclamation-no-1081/

https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2021/country-chapters/philippines

https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/asia-and-the-pacific/philippines/report-philippines/