Relatives of victims of extra judicial killings (EJK) hold in Quezon City on July 17, 2019. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File
MANILA — An international watchdog has downgraded the civic space rating of the Philippines from “obstructed” to “repressed” in its report for this year, citing the passage of the controversial Anti-Terrorism Act, attacks against the media, and the alleged killings and vilification of activists in the past year.
South Africa-based Civicus Monitor, a global research collaboration of more than 20 organizations that rates and tracks respect for fundamental freedoms in 196 countries, said in its People Power Under Attack report 2020 that it is “extremely concerned” of the recent attacks against journalists, human rights defenders, and the criminalization of activists.
“The Duterte government has incrementally chipped away at civic freedoms since it came to power in 2016 but this has further eroded over the last year. In 2020, we have seen systematic intimidation, attacks and vilification of civil society and activists, an increased crackdown on press freedoms and a pervasive culture of impunity take root,” Josef Benedict, Civicus Monitor’s Asia-Pacific researcher, said in the report released Tuesday.
Civic space refers to the environment that allows civil society to access information, engage in dialogue and express dissent.
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Among the bases for the downgrade were the killings of peace consultant and land rights activist Randall Echanis and rights activist Zara Alvarez.
Echanis was killed inside his home in Novaliches, Quezon City in August by a group of armed men, who remain at large. Alvarez, meanwhile, was gunned down in a street in Bacolod City just a few days after.
The watchdog noted that both had been “red-tagged” or labelled as communists or terrorists by the government, which placed them at great risk of being targeted.
Two female activists, Teresita Naul and Beatrice Belen, were also arrested in March and October, respectively, allegedly on the basis of trumped-up charges.
Sen. Leila de Lima, a vocal critic of the President, remains detained for more than 3 years on what Civicus Monitor called as “fabricated” charges.
De Lima’s defense team recently said that the prosecution’s own witnesses admitted on the witness stand that they do not have personal knowledge of the senator’s involvement in the illegal drug trade, following the completion of the prosecution’s presentation of evidence in 2 of her 3 drug cases.
The watchdog added that the attack against Philippine media this year intensified with Maria Ressa’s conviction for cyber libel in June and the shutdown of ABS-CBN's broadcast operations in May after its franchise renewal bid was rejected by the House of Representatives.
“The shutdown of a major outlet, ABS-CBN, is shocking, especially during a pandemic when information is critical to saving lives. Threats and attacks against journalists have contributed to self-censorship and have had a chilling effect within the media sector,” Benedict said.
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“On top of this, there are serious concerns that the new anti-terrorism law, which has few safeguards, will institutionalize and facilitate an abuse of power,” he added.
Various rights groups have criticized the passage of the Anti-Terrorism Act, with 37 petitioners challenging its constitutionality before the Supreme Court due mainly to its vague definition of terrorism and the expansive powers granted to the Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC).
The ATC, they said, could designate who can be considered terrorists and authorize their arrest without a warrant and detention for up to 24 days, as well as surveillance and freezing of assets through the Anti-Money Laundering Council.
The Supreme Court has set oral arguments on the petitions on January 19, 2021.
Philippines placed on Civicus watchlist
The downgrade came after a year of regular monitoring and a thorough assessment of the state of civic freedom and places the Philippines alongside 43 other countries like Cambodia, Venezuela and Russia.
African countries like Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea, Niger and Togo also suffered a similar downgrade.
A “repressed” rating means democratic freedoms such as freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association are “severely restricted” and is only one notch higher than the lowest rating of “closed” reserved to countries like Iraq, Vietnam, North Korea and China.
In June, the watchdog placed the Philippines on its watchlist due partly to the COVID-19 emergency powers given by Congress to the President, aside from the new anti-terrorism law, the attacks on independent media and red tagging.
In the same month, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights submitted a report to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) which detailed widespread human rights violations and persistent impunity in the country owing to a “heavy-handed focus” on countering national security threats and illegal drugs.
Rights groups had hoped the report would lead to an international, independent probe into the human rights situation in the country but the UNHRC came out with a resolution that would provide technical cooperation and capacity-building for promotion and protection of human rights in the country.
The Department of Justice on Monday, launched a 3-day human rights summit as part of a Philippines-UN joint program on human rights under the UNHRC resolution.
But critics said the summit is “ironic” and a “big farce” given the Duterte government’s track record and because human rights victims and defenders are not part of the summit.
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