Geneva-Paris, May 24, 2019. As President Rodrigo Duterte’s
authoritarian rule gets further strengthened after his candidates dominated the
May 13 elections for the Philippine Senate, his all-out war on human rights
defenders is likely to intensify, the
Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (an FIDH-OMCT
partnership) warned today.
Upon return from an international mission to the
Philippines, the Observatory is alarmed by the
ongoing repression of human rights defenders and the further deterioration of
the environment in which they operate.
As witnessed directly by the Observatory representatives, human rights
defenders in the country, including NGO representatives, media activists, land
and environmental rights defenders, trade unionists and human rights lawyers,
are repeatedly subjected to trumped-up charges and lengthy pre-trial arbitrary
detention, threats, and killings in total impunity. President Duterte's unabated
‘war on drugs, along with he continued imposition of martial law in Mindanao province and the
increased militarisation of Negros province go hand with hand with a rise in
the violence against defenders in the country.
Since
President Duterte took power in June 2016, human rights defenders have faced
relentless vilification and red-tagging, including through the use of fake
news, which aims to undermine and discredit their legitimate work. Ahead of the May 13 elections,
Government red-tagging campaigns further increased. On April 26, 2019, several lawyers from
the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL), journalists from Rappler,
an online news outlet known for its investigative reporting and its criticism
of the Duterte administration’s actions, and members of the Philippines Center
for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ), were exposed in
a so-called “associational
matrix” as being part of a purported plot to oust Duterte. Such public attacks have directly put at risk human rights defenders, and in
some cases, resulted in their actual killing. On April 22, 2019, Mr. Bernardino Patigas, a city councillor
and a well-known human rights defender who called for land reform and denounced
the militarisation of communities and ongoing human rights violations in Negros
province, was killed. In April 2018, his name and picture, together with that
of human rights lawyer Mr. Benjamin Ramos, who was subsequently murdered on November 6, 2018, and 60 other individuals and rights
advocates, were included in a poster of alleged communist personalities.
Following reports of Mr. Patigas’ killing, a death threat via text message from
an unknown person was sent to Ms. Cristina Palabay, KARAPATAN Secretary
General, and various other community leaders in Negros, insinuating that the
names included in the message were targets to be killed within the year.
The number of human rights lawyers killed during Duterte’s presidency
continued to rise, with 38 lawyers killed since July 2016. The Observatory condemns the statement made on May 9 by the Duterte Government, telling
the Supreme Court that human rights lawyers do not need a protection order from
the Government and the military, arguing that “there is no extra-legal killing
and enforced disappearances” among the lawyers’ ranks. Such statements directly
contribute to the perpetuation of the context of impunity for attacks against
defenders.
“Human
rights defenders are not terrorists, criminals or enemies of the State. We call
upon the authorities of the Philippines to re-open the space for civil society
and to recognise the legitimacy of human rights defenders and protect them
instead of slandering them”, the Observatory said today.
Aside
from public attacks and impunity for killings, the Government is increasingly striving
to annihilate the work of NGOs. Notably, the 2018 Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) Memorandum Circular No. 15, published in November 2018,
clearly aims to restrict the work of NGOs, who are now forced to disclose more
information about their work and funding under the guise of fighting terrorism
and money laundering. Incomplete submission of this information will be deemed a failure to comply and can
result in the revocation of an NGO’s registration. NGOs may also be
categorised as ‘at risk’ of money laundering or terrorist financing abuse on
the basis on an undisclosed points system. More recently, the
Government claimed that six prominent NGOs,
including the Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA) and
Karapatan - the Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights - were
supporting the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and were operating
illegally as a result of the cancellation of their SEC registration. Yet, both
PAHRA and KARAPATAN secured new registration in 2010 and 2013, following
previous revocations of their registration in 2003 and 2005 respectively.
Besides,
pending amendments to the 2007 Human Security Act are
also likely to be used, if adopted, to target and silence critical voices in
the country. The amendments would notably allow
arrests without a warrant or judicial oversight for up to 30 days, provide
immunity to law enforcement officials and the military for delays in bringing
individuals before judicial authorities, and expand the already vague definition
of terrorist crimes to encompass ordinary crimes.
“If
President Duterte is serious about his commitment to improve the living
conditions of poor people in the Philippines, he should stop targeting
defenders - the very people who
stand up for human rights, development and social justice for all”, the Observatory concluded.
Context
The Observatory carried out an international advocacy
and outreach mission to Manila Metro and Iloilo in the Philippines from May 15
to May 22, 2019, with the support of its local partners PAHRA and Karapatan.
It
aimed at presenting the main conclusions and recommendations of the recently-published report of the Observatory on the
situation of human rights defenders in the Philippines to local stakeholders,
including human rights groups, media activists, the Commission on Human Rights
(CHR), the Philippine National Police, the Department of Interior and
Local Government, as well as diplomatic
representatives. The mission also met with
human rights defenders most at risk from Metro Manila and Ilocos, Iloilo, Panay, Quezon, Negros, and Mindanao
provinces.
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (the
Observatory) was created in 1997 by the World Organisation Against Torture
(OMCT) and FIDH. The objective of this programme is to intervene to prevent or
remedy situations of repression against human rights defenders. OMCT and FIDH
are both members of ProtectDefenders.eu, the European Union Human Rights
Defenders Mechanism implemented by international civil society.
For further information, please contact:
·
OMCT: Delphine Reculeau: +41 22 809 49 39
·
FIDH:
Eva Canan: + 33 6 48 05 91 57
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