Posts

CHR tells world of red-tagging, misuse of counter-terror measures

/in /by
Rights defenders ask UN to conduct investigations in PH

The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) in the Philippines called on the Philippine government to end the practice of red-tagging and ensure that counter-terrorism measures are not “weaponized” against activists and political opponents.

In an intervention in the ongoing United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), CHR chairperson Richard Palpal-latoc said the Commission is seriously concerned about the Philippine government’s misuse of counter-terrorism measures to curtail the right to freedom of expression and peaceably assemble in the country.

“[It] creates a chilling effect in human rights activism in the country,” Palpal-latoc said in a video-taped message as part of the interactive dialogue on UN special rapporteur on counter-terrorism and human rights Ben Saul’s report last March 12 .

“State agents and institutions, particularly the law enforcement, using State resources, systematically engage in red-tagging, which is the act of branding or accusing individuals or organizations, many of whom are human rights defenders and community workers,” Palpal-latoc revealed.

He added that victims of red-tagging are labeled as subversives or communists that facilitate and carry out terrorist acts.

“Red tagging legitimizes intrusion into civilians’ private lives and has dangerous consequences – online and physical attacks, prolonged incarceration, and even death to some,” the CHR chairperson said.

Palpal-latoc said the Philippine national human rights institution joins the international Treaty Bodies, Special Rapporteurs, UN Member States, and global civil society organizations in calling the Philippine Government to end the practice of red-tagging and ensure that counter-terrorism measures are not weaponized against activists and political opponents.

“We also strongly encourage the Government to work with the Special Rapporteur Mr. Ben Saul, in reviewing the human rights impacts of the country’s counter-terrorism policies and practices through an official country visit,” he added.

The Philippine UPR Watch delegation to the 55th UNHRC regular session in Geneva, Switzerland.
(Photo by the World Council of Churches)

Just as bad under Marcos

Meanwhile, delegates of the Philippine UPR (Universal Periodic Review) Watch in Geneva said the human rights situation is not better under the Ferdinand Marcos Jr. government, contrary to what government officials are telling UN member states.

In a side event UN HRC session last March 14, the delegation echoed CHR’s revelation of red-tagging and weaponization of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) of 2020 in the Philippines, adding the Marcos administration has continued with repressive and oppressive policies implemented under the previous Rodrigo Duterte regime.

“High level envoys have been here at the start of this UNHRC session telling other member states and the UN in general of the so-called successes of the UN Joint Program (UNJP) that has been implemented in the Philippines in the last three years. What success is the Marcos government talking about when rights violations continue unabated?” IBON executive director Sonny Africa asked.

Department of Justice undersecretary Raul Vasquez claimed in an oral statement to the UNHRC last February 27 that the Philippine government “strengthen[ed] existing domestic human rights mechanisms (through the UNJP) in support of [the government’s) rights-based development agenda.”

Vasquez also announced that the Marcos government shall establish “a human rights coordinating council (HRCC) to take over and broaden the programs identified under the UNJP, and ensure greater participation of other government agencies and civil society organizations.”

Africa said that both IBON and Karapatan are members of a technical working group within the UNJP and they have a front row seat of how capacity-building exercises are ineffective when laws such as the Anti-Terrorism Act are still actively used to oppress human rights defenders.

“The Marcos government cannot claim success of the UNJP when the drug killings continue, such as in the case of Jemboy Baltazar killed by the police 13 months into the Marcos presidency. Worse, the police officer who shot him was given a very light sentence and his cohorts were set free in what the court described was a simple case of mistaken identity,” Africa said.

Africa added that the planned HRCC is likely to become another failure like the UNJP.

“As long as the Marcos government continues to ignore the recommendations made by UN special rapporteurs who recently visited the country, such as the abolition of the red-tagging National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict and the review of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) 2020, there will be more rights violations,” Africa warned.

Clergy, environmentalists as ATA victims

United Methodist Church clergy and National Council of Churches in the Philippines member Rev. Glofie Baluntong narrated how the ATA was used to drive her away from Southern Tagalog where she was a Distrist Superintendent for Mindoro and Romblon.

Baluntong was charged with alleged violation of the ATA in 2021 for her defense of the indigenous Mangyan in Mindoro who resist mining and logging operations in the island.

Center for Environmental Concerns executive director Lia Mai Torres narrated how two state abduction survivors and fellow environment defenders Jhed Tamano and Jonila Castro were supposed to be part of the Philippine UPR Watch delegation but for additional charges filed against them by the DOJ.

“The ongoing UH HRC session, being the first one after their abduction and dramatic walk to freedom, would have been the most opportune time for the two brave environmental activists to share to the world their ordeal in the hands of the Marcos government,” Torres said.

The DOJ filed a grave oral defamation charge against Tamano and Castro last February before the Dona Remedios Trinidad Municipal Trial Court for allegedly maligning the Philippine Army.

“The irony of the kidnappers charging their abductions victims is simply incredible,” Torres quipped.

800 political prisoners

Karapatan legal counsel Ma. Sol Taule told attending Geneva graduate students and Geneva-based international civil society organizations of the 800 political prisoners languishing in various jails throughout the Philippines.

“The fact that the Marcos government keeps in jail hundreds of political prisoners is testament that the human rights situation in the Philippines under Marcos Jr. is not better,” Taule said.

“Since the compromise project of UNJP did not produce the intended result of respect for human rights in the Philippines, we urge the United Nations to revisit the approved 2019 Iceland resolution for the conduct of an independent investigation,” she said.

Taule added that the DOJ has no right to head the proposed HRCC given its lack of credibility in delivering justice to human rights violations victims, as in the case of the notorious Bloody Sunday killings in Southern Tagalog three years ago that killed five activists and killed several others in a single day.

The lawyer also cited the DOJ’s role in Administrative Order 35 creating the Inter-Agency Committee on Extra-Legal Killings, Enforced Disappearances, Torture and other grave violations to the Rights to Life, Liberty and Security of Persons in 2012.

“The world knows the Philippine government’s bloody record in killing thousands upon thousands of suspected drug dependents as well as human rights defenders and simple civilians. What moral right does DOJ have to head a human rights coordinating council?” Taule asked.

“The Philippine government is lying about the real situation on the ground and it is miserable failing to abide by its commitments to the international community. It is high time for the UNHRC to find the truth out for itself by conducting its own investigation,” the human rights lawyer added. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

= = = = =

(DISCLOSURE) The reporter is a member of the Philippine UPR Watch delegation as chairperson of the People’s Alternative Media Network who met with UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression and opinion Irene Khan last January.

Methodist pastor tells UN of PH government harassment using anti-terror law

/in /by

GENEVA, Switzerland—A Filipina clergy spoke before the ongoing 55th regular session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in this city complaining of trumped up charges against her by the Philippine government using the Philippine Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA, Republic Act No. 11479) of 2020.

United Methodist Church (UMC) Pastor Glofie Baluntong said both the Rodrigo Duterte and Ferdinand Marcos governments use the ATA and other repressive laws in the Philippines to harass human rights defenders

At the UNHRC’s discussion of the report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism Ben Saul last Tuesday, March 12, Baluntong narrated that on June 17, 2019, Philippine National Police forces barged into her church compound in Roxas, Oriental Mindoro without a court-issued warrant, demanding she surrender of Karapatan Southern Tagalog members she was hosting. She was then accused of aiding alleged rebels, she added.

“Since then, I have endured harassment, intrusive visits, and questioning by the Armed Forces (of the Philippines),” she revealed.

Rev. Baluntong, also a member of the National Council of Churches of the Philippines, also told the international body that she was subsequently charged by the Philippine government of attempted murder on August 18, 2021.

“[They cited] an armed encounter that allegedly occurred on March 25 of that year—a day on which I was conducting funeral rites for a departed church member,” Baluntong told the UN.

“I was also wrongfully charged with [violation of] the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, and grave threats from state forces have forced me to flee my town,” she added.

Baluntong’s testimony at the UNHRC discussion followed former senator Leila de Lima’s own intervention via video, narrating her seven-year ordeal as a political prisoner for her opposition to Duterte’s bloody drug war.

Baluntong called upon UN member states, including the Philippines, to heed Saul’s recommendations to ensure that counter-terrorism laws and practices, including efforts to combat terrorism financing, respect human rights.

Baluntong said that governments must make sure they do not curtail the legitimate activities of civil society organizations, impede civic space, or hinder humanitarian endeavours.

“Saul’s report testifies to my own lived experience,” Baluntong said.

United Methodist Church Rev. Glofie Baluntong delivering her oral intervention at the 55th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council. (Screengrab from UN TV)

Increasing number of cases

Meanwhile, rights group Karapatan, a member of the Philippine UPR (Universal Periodic Review) delegation attending the ongoing UNHRC session here said at least 27 individuals have been charged by the Philippine government of violating the ATA.

These are in addition to several Islamic groups charged as terrorists groups under the ATA and the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act of 2012 (Republic Act No. 10168).

“Charges under ATA against three political prisoners had been dismissed, but they remain in jail due to other trumped up criminal charges.  Eight political prisoners who were detained and faced charges under Republic Act No. 11479 had been released,” Karapatan legal counsel Atty. Ma. Sol Taule said.

The constitutionality of the Philippine Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 had been contested by 47 petitions before the Supreme Court that in turn struck down some of its most questionable provisions.

The high court however deferred judgement on other contested points citing lack of actual injury pending it’s the law’s full implementation.

“There has been no reported conviction under both laws strongly indicating the infirmities of the trumped up charges and of the law itself,” Taule said. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

[DISCLOSURE] The reporter is a member of the PH UPR Watch delegation as chairperson of the People’s Alternative Media Network that also spoke with UN special rapporteur on freedom of expression and opinion Irene Khan during her visit to the Philippines earlier this year.

Jhed, Jonila fail to attend UN rights council session

/in /by

GENEVA, Switzerland—Environment activists Jhed Tamano and Jonila Castro, alleged military abduction survivors, failed to attend the ongoing 55th regular session of United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in this city due to the filing of grave defamation charges against them by the Department of Justice, the Philippine UPR (Universal Periodic Review) Watch revealed.

Wanting to personally narrate their ordeal before the international body, Tamano and Castro were forced to forego their trip to attend to court hearings after the 70th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army’s 7th Infantry Division filed the new charges against them later this month.

The Philippine UPR Watch condemned the Department of Justice’s recommendation to file the grave defamation charge and elevating it to the courts as “a deliberate attempt at preventing them from telling the world of their ordeal.”

“Jhed and Jonila wanted to deliver oral interventions at the UNHRC general debates as survivors of abduction by the Ferdinand Marcos Jr. government that also tried to falsely present them to the public as so-called rebel surrenderees,” Karapatan legal counsel and Philippine UPR Watch delegate Atty. Ma. Sol Taule said.

Castro and Tamano were also scheduled to speak at various regular session side events at the UN as well as in various other countries throughout Europe in the coming weeks.

“Both survivors had already secured travel visas but were forced to cancel when the DOJ and 70th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army’s 7th Infantry Division filed new trumped up charges against them,” Taule added.

Castro and Tamano each posted bail last February 21 at the Dona Remedios Trinidad Municipal Trial Court in Bulacan on charges the anti-Manila Bay reclamation activists deliberately defamed the military and the Ferdinand Marcos Jr. government in a press conference organized by the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict last September 19 in Plaridel, Bulacan.

“That is not prosecution but political persecution,” Taule said.

In an earlier statement, Castro and Tamano said the DOJ is in collusion with the NTF-ELCAC and the Armed Forces of the Philippines in telling the courts a “patchwork” of stories to save face and cover up its practice of abduction and presentation of fake surrenderees.

“This decision proved that our questioning of the DOJ’s capability to conduct fair investigations was correct, adding the department conveniently ignored the fact that they were kidnapped and coerced into surrendering and admitting that they were members of Communist groups,” the young environmentalists said after posting bail last month.

Despite their physical absence however, Castro and Tamano’s ordeal shall be told in side events and dialogues with permanent missions of UN member states as well as officials of international civil society organizations in the UN nonetheless, the Philippine UPR Watch said.

“If the government thinks that it could cover up its abductions and other human rights violations by preventing Jhed and Jonila from personally telling their ordeal to the world, it is mistaken,” Center for Environmental Concerns executive director Lia Mai Torres said.

Torres added that foreign governments are very interested in knowing more about the case of the two young environmental defenders who bravely revealed their abduction and 17-day imprisonment in a Philippine Army camp in front of their abductors.

“The case of Jhed and Jonila helps reveal that human rights situation is no better under Marcos Jr. and environmental defenders are among the victims,” Torres said.

A network of human rights groups, churches, and people’s organizations, the Philippine UPR Watch is an active participant in UNHRC sessions through oral interventions, forums, dialogues and reports on the state of human rights in the Philippines. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

[DISCLOSURE] The reporter is a member of the PH UPR Watch delegation as chairperson of the People’s Alternative Media Network that also spoke with UN special rapporteur on freedom of expression and opinion Irene Khan in her visit to the Philippines earlier this year.

Rights defenders at UN press calls for NTF-ELCAC abolition, junking of anti-terror act

/in /by

GENEVA, Switzerland—The Philippine UPR Watch again called for the abolition of the National Task Force To End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) and the junking of the controversial Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 in its ongoing participation at the 55th Regular Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UN HRC) in this city.

A delegation of the group informed various permanent missions of member states and international civil society organizations based in Geneva last Monday and Tuesday of the results of two recent visits of UN special rapporteurs who denounced government’s red-tagging practices.

The group said they it is attending the session to testify on continuing human rights violations under the Ferdinand Marcos Jr. government.

“We are here to inform the international community that the findings by both special rapporteur on climate change and human rights Ian Fry last November and special rapporteur on freedom of expression and opinion Irene Khan last February that human rights violations continue are true,” Center for Environmental Concerns executive director Lia Mai Torres said.

Philippine UPR Watch said the rest of UN member states must be informed that both experts recommended the abolition of the NTF-ELCAC and called for the review of the anti-terror law that are being used against human rights defenders and other civilians.

A network of human rights defenders in the Philippines, the Philippine UPR Watch said it is scheduled to deliver oral interventions at the UNHRC session and its other events to give updates on the government’s lack of compliance to its commitments to the international body 20 months after the last review on the Philippines.

 “The Marcos Jr. government wants to paint a rosy picture of so-called improved rhetoric and improved conditions but we are here both as victims and witnesses that anti-people policies have not changed as evidenced by the exit statements by Mr. Fry and Ms. Khan,” Torres added.

Clergywoman as victim of weaponized law

Among the main topics in the 55th UN HRC session are discussions on countering religious hatred and social security and public services.

With the Philippine UPR Watch delegation is Rev. Glofie Baluntong of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines who was among the first charged by the government under the controversial Anti-Terror Law of 2020.

Based on an earlier murder charge in August 2021, Baluntong was slapped with an alleged violation of the Anti-Terror Act in August 2022 which was recently dismissed by the public prosecutor for lack of merit.

“But the dismissal came with the warning that the case may be re-filed anytime that the military or the police decides to do so,” the clergyperson said.

The United Methodist Church pastor was charged by the military of assisting the New People’s Army.

But the pastor said she was performing necrological services to a member of her church at the time she committed the alleged murder she was initially charged with.

“The government is saying that my work with the indigenous people’s communities make me an enemy of the state,” Baluntong said.

Baluntong said that red-tagging attacks and trumped-up charges prevent her from performing her ministry with the indigenous peoples and poor communities in her home province of Mindoro.

With Baluntong and Torres is IBON Foundation executive director Sonny Africa who said that his participation in the 55th session is in preparation for the anticipated official visit of the UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty.

Africa is also expected to participate in the panel discussion on challenges and good practices to realize the right to social security and to provide quality public services.

Delegation co-leader and Karapatan legal counsel Ma. Sol Taule  said, “This delegation supports suggestions made by the UN experts who recently visited the Philippines to continue our engagements leading to the submission of their respective final reports to the UN HRC.”

The Philippine UPR Watch delegation is also scheduled to speak at forums in various cities in Switzerland and throughout Europe during the duration of the UN HRC session. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

= = = = = =

[DISCLOSURE] The reporter is a member of the PH UPR Watch delegation as chairperson of the People’s Alternative Media Network that also spoke with UN special rapporteur on freedom of expression and opinion Irene Khan in her visit to the Philippines earlier this year.

The NTF-ELCAC should be abolished

/in /by

“Third, the NTF-ELCAC was established by the previous administration six years ago for a different context. It does not take into account ongoing prospects for peace negotiations. I therefore recommend that the Task Force be abolished.” —UN Special Rapporteur Irene Khan (February 2, 2024)

(Image by Jo Maois Mamangun)

[THIS IS THE SEVENTH AND LAST IN A SERIES OF NOTABLE STATEMENTS MADE BY UNITED NATIONS SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND OPINION IRENE KHAN ON HER INVESTIGATION IN THE PHILIPPINES]

The dangers of red-tagging

/in /by

“The dangers are evident. The vilification has often been followed by threats, unlawful surveillance, attacks, or even unlawful killing. It intimidates and chills freedom of expression, and suppresses legitimate activism, journalism, debate and criticism which are part and parcel of freedom of expression. It isolates and antagonizes those who are unfairly attacked, puts them in a vulnerable position, may even drive them to exploitation by others, and undermines public trust in civil society and the media.” —UN Special Rapporteur Irene Khan (February 2, 2024)

(Image by Jo Maois Mamangun)

[THIS IS THE FOURTH IN A SERIES OF NOTABLE STATEMENTS MADE BY UNITED NATIONS SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND OPINION IRENE KHAN ON HER INVESTIGATION IN THE PHILIPPINES]

As we were saying, Irene Khan

/in /by

Dear Irene:

Halfway into your official visit and only after one tweet, enemies of freedom of expression and opinion in this country have already come out of the woodwork to attack your person and your mandate. Among them is a retired general and former spokesperson of the government’s counter-insurgency task force; another is a self-absorbed lawyer who once publicly defended Adolf Hitler.

But you must know about how your post on X on your visit to the Tacloban District Jail yesterday made the spokesperson of the regional red-tagging task force reply with menacing vitriol. You asked, “How long must they (journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio and fellow human rights defenders Marielle Domequil and Alexander Abinguna) wait to be freed?” and Prosecutor Flosemer Chris Gonzales responded with naked annoyance and arrogance.

UN Special Rapporteur Irene Khan (second from left) with staff and the three political detainees at the Tacloban District Jail on Friday. (Ms Khan’s X post)

Mr Gonzales alleged that you directly insulted the so-called independence of the entire Philippine judicial system, particularly the national prosecution service, by asking the question. He felt compelled to remind you that the outcome of court trials in the Philippines is not subject to ideologically-based speculation, conclusion and assumption.

I could have laughed hard at that were it not for the fact that too many innocent people have been victims of our corrupt judicial system. Leila de Lima (your fellow lawyer, former senator and former justice secretary who I heard will also be meeting you on this trip) will tell you more about it.

The public prosecutor went on to allege that your question assumes the three detainees will be free and that it encroaches on the functions of Philippine courts, putting a cloud on the so-called competence and integrity of the country’s law enforcement agencies and prosecutors. But he himself assumes the court will agree with him that the three prisoners slept with guns and grenades under their pillows (like hundreds of other political prisoners at the time of their midnight arrests), doesn’t he?

The fiscal who moonlights as a red-tagging task force mouthpiece proceeded to advise you to observe prudence and tact. Obviously bereft of these values himself, he ordered you to choose your words carefully when commenting about a host country that now happens to be ours. He seems ignorant of the fact that the state he refers to is a founding member of the United Nations of which you represent. He also “strongly reminded” you that the Philippines is a country of laws, forgetting that those laws include international covenants such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that the country signed and claims to adhere to, the very same precepts your mandate and your very presence in the Philippines are based upon.

Mr Gonzales claimed as well that every person charged with an offense in the Philippines is entitled to due process of laws. Indeed, Frenchie, Marielle and Alexander should be entitled to their rights. But the public prosecutor is obviously desperate of reminding that the arresting officers swooped like thieves in the dead of night and blindfolded them. Yes, the government harps that no one is above the law here, but we aver in turn that many are under its boot.

Gonzales meanly ended with the statement that it is not your place to pass judgment on pending trials in this country’s courts. “Know your place in our country. Respect begets respect,” Gonzales wrote. “You are not a part of our judicial system,” he added.

Thank heavens you are not, Irene. If you are, who in their right mind would think of asking your help?

But you hear us more now, right? Asking a simple question, twitting an opinion, can be dangerous in this country. It is unacceptable to the State Mr Gonzales and government officials his kind represent. #

South Africa charges Israel before World Court for genocide of Palestinians

/in /by

The Republic of South Africa (RSA) instituted proceedings against Israel before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for the latter’s genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Citing violations by Israel of its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (the Genocide Convention), South Africa filed the petition last Friday, December 29, at the ICJ, the principal judicial organ of the United Nations.

According to the Application, “acts and omissions by Israel…are genocidal in character, as they are committed with the requisite specific intent…to destroy Palestinians in Gaza as a part of the broader Palestinian national, racial and ethnical group.”

RSA’s petition added that “the conduct of Israel — through its State organs, State agents, and other persons and entities acting on its instructions or under its direction, control or influence — in relation to Palestinians in Gaza, is in violation of its obligations under the Genocide Convention.”

South Africa said that Israel, since 7 October 2023 in particular, has failed to prevent genocide and has failed to prosecute the direct and public incitement to genocide,” adding further that “Israel has engaged in, is engaging in and risks further engaging in genocidal acts against the Palestinian people in Gaza.”

President Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa also announced his government’s petition on his office’s official X (formerly Twitter) account.

The ICJ, popularly called the World Court, is a civil tribunal that hears disputes between countries. It is distinct from the International Criminal Court which is a criminal tribunal that prosecute individuals. Both are based in The Hague, The Netherlands.

The ongoing hostilities in Gaza started last October 27 when Hamas fighters attacked Israelis in a massive operation that killed hundreds, including 4 Filipinos working and residing in the region.

Israel’s ongoing retaliation to the attack has resulted in more than 20,000 Palestinians casualties, including 8,000 children and 6,200 women as of December 20.

Popular global opinion however blames the zionist movement for its illegal occupation of Palestine, a claimed backed by several UN resolutions since 1948.

In its application against Israel, South Africa requested the Court to indicate provisional measures in order to “protect against further, severe and irreparable harm to the rights of the Palestinian people under the Genocide Convention.”

Israel must comply with its obligations under the Genocide Convention not to engage in genocide, and to prevent and to punish genocide, it added. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

Drug war widow brings husband’s case to UN

/in /by

A widow of a victim of the government’s so-called war on drugs called for a stronger United Nations (UN) effort in investigating the killings in the Philippines.

Amy Jane Lee, whose husband Michael was among the thousands killed, said the bloody campaign started by the Rodrigo Duterte government is continuing under the current Ferdinand Marcos Jr. administration.

“The killings continue. If the ‘war on drugs’ was effective, the proliferation of illegal drugs would no longer be an issue. If the domestic investigation processes were efficient, I wouldn’t be here asking for help again,” Lee said.

A member of Rise Up for Life and for Rights, Lee is in Geneva, Switzerland as the UN Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR) publicized its report on human rights challenges in addressing and countering all aspects of the world drug problem.

Rise Up is among the groups that submitted complaints to the OHCHR and was cited in the report, particularly about human rights violations “resulting from the militarization of anti-drug operations that disproportionately impact the poorest and most marginalized sectors of society.” 

The UN OHCHR report also stated that: “In most cases, accountability for human rights violations and access to effective remedies for victims and communities remains lacking.”

The UN Human Rights Council (HRC) is conducting its 54th session attended by a delegation of the Philippine UPR (Universal Periodic Review) Watch from human rights, lawyers, indigenous peoples, church, and environment groups from the Philippines.

The HRC is currently conducting a UN Joint Program in the Philippines that includes dialogues and trainings with government agencies in upholding and protecting human rights.

The program however had been receiving criticisms from local human rights groups for being “insubstantial in bringing about changes in the country’s drug policies, with the killings continuing under the Marcos administration unchecked and un-prosecuted.” 

“The heat is on the Philippines, with UN special rapporteurs noting concern over recent developments in the Philippines, on top of the International Criminal Court (ICC) investigating the extrajudicial killings committed during the Duterte administration’s drug war,” said Atty. Kristina Conti, secretary-general of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL)-National Capital Region.

The NUPL represents victims of the “war on drugs” in proceedings before the ICC.

Lee and Philippine UPR Watch called on missions of state members of the ICC to support the investigation being conducted by the Office of the Prosecutor.

Conti emphasized the continuing obligation of the Philippine government to cooperate with the court.

“It is logically inconsistent for the Philippines to cooperate with the UN but not the ICC,” she said. 

Philippine UPR Watch also reiterated its call for the UN through the OHCHR to continue their monitoring and reporting on the situation of human rights in the Philippines, with the killing of a lawyer in Abra province  and the abduction and arbitrary detention of two environmental activists in Bataan. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

Jonila and Jhed’s case reaches UN, rights defenders announce

/in /by

A group of human rights defenders said they have reported the case of the two abducted environmental activists to the United Nations (UN) at the ongoing 54th Regular Session of the Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva, Switzerland.

The Philippine UPR [Universal Periodic Review] Watch (PUPR) said the press conference organized by the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) last September 19 when anti-Manila Bay reclamation project campaigners Jonila Castro and Jhed Tamano revealed their abduction has reached the offices of several UN Special Rapporteurs and country missions.

The PUPR said it continues to update attendees at the 54th UN Human Rights Council session about the NTF-ELCAC’s “degenerative tactic” of presenting abduction and enforced disappearance victims as surrenderers.

“The PUPR team, continuing to report on developments in the Philippines, (also) shared this development with the office of the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information,” the group in a statement said, referring to Irene Khan who is set to visit the Philippine in January 2024.

Bishop Melzar Labuntog, the General Secretary of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines also asked other UN experts to red-tagging, freezing of assets, and arrests and detention of church workers and groups.

“Church groups living out their faith and expressions have met malignment and have been equated with terrorist groups,” Labuntog said. “The clear trend of attacking church workers and ministries is a clear indication of how human rights, freedom, and justice are being trampled upon.”

Bishop Labuntog is part of the PUPR delegation to the ongoing UN session, alongside an indigenous people’s leader, a climate activist, a victim of extra-judicial killings, and a people’s lawyer.

The group said they emphasize the injustices suffered by civilians under the Philippine Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, citing at least 15 terrorism-related cases filed against activists, ranging from allegations of acts of terrorism to financing terrorism with corresponding civil forfeiture charges.

In their meetings with experts and country missions, the PUPR delegation said they also raise the issue of censorship such as the blocking of 25 websites of progressive news sites by the National Telecommunication Commission upon the orders of the National Security Council.

“The first target of government repression will not be the last,” National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers-National Capital Region secretary general Kristina Conti said.

Conti added that NUPL’s own Facebook page became inaccessible last September 26 after several posts condemning the killing of a fellow lawyer in Abra province.

PUPR said one of its members from the Council of Health and Development has delivered an oral intervention through video in the interactive dialogue on economic, social, and cultural rights and COVID-19 recovery at the ongoing UNHRC session. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)