Altermidya
By KIMBERLIE QUITASOL
www.nordis.net
BAGUIO CITY — Amnesty International (AI) Philippines, in a press conference in Baguio City on May 8, said there is no substantial change in sight for human rights under the Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. administration.
Wilnor Papa, AI Philippines’ activism and mobilization manager, pointed out that continuing state-perpetrated repression and impunity only led to escalated human rights violations.
Papa underscored that AI has raised the same human rights violations in its post-Martial Law reports on the Philippines. He stressed that the government’s failure to implement previous recommendations to address these human rights violations shows a lack of political will to stop them.
“The Marcos administration’s weak approach to ensuring human rights violations are addressed shows that his priorities are elsewhere, or non-existent at all,” Papa stressed.
He further said that the culture of impunity continues because perpetrators “can get away with murder, literally,” adding that in the very few cases that reached the courts, “the wheels of justice are not moving.”
AI Philippines cited data from Dahas, a university-based research group that police-led anti-drug operations or unknown individuals killed at least 329 people in 2023. He added that as of the first quarter of 2024, the number has risen to almost 600.
Commission on Human Rights-Cordillera Director Romel Daguimol said documenting and building cases on extrajudicial killings (EJKs) is a difficult task, whether they are drug-related or not. Despite their success in establishing some cases, only a few have been brought to court, and all are still pending.
According to him, often, authorities charge the participants in the killings but face difficulty in pinpointing the topmost accountability.
“(I)t is hard to build a winnable case, especially in cases where many victims or witnesses will not speak or give their testimonies. One weakness in our justice system is the lack of witnesses to ensure proper prosecution or even access to justice for the victims,” he added.
“Stop red-tagging”
AI Philippines also noted that “attacks against human rights defenders and critics of the government have increased under a climate of impunity.”
Papa said more and more student activists, lawyers, journalists, indigenous peoples, and practically anyone who speaks to power have been repeatedly red-tagged. This, he said, results in more serious violations like arbitrary arrests and detention, killings, and enforced disappearances, among others.
“The ripple effect of red tagging in the wider community creates a cycle of fear, undermining everyone’s right to freedom of expression and opinion,” Papa said.
“Instead of sowing fear by saying that all activists are terrorists, the government should work toward creating an environment that supports and enables Filipinos to carry out their advocacy whether socio-political, economic, or environmental in nature without the threat of reprisals,” Papa added.
Daguimol explained that CHR considers the practice “analogous to a violation of the right to security.”
“Red tagging, in the simplest way, is still discrimination and vilification based on political belief or political affiliation, which is still considered a violation of your right to political exercise,” he said.
In Baguio City alone, CHR-Cordillera recorded 30 red-tagging cases targeting activists and journalists during the Duterte administration and seven under Marcos Jr’s presidency.
AI reiterated its call for the government to immediately end the practice of red-tagging and all forms of attacks against activists. They also called on the Marcos administration to “publicly recognize the key role that human rights defenders play in uplifting the situation in the country.” # nordis.net
