What's the state of Philippine human rights under Marcos Jr? | ABS-CBN

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What's the state of Philippine human rights under Marcos Jr?

What's the state of Philippine human rights under Marcos Jr?

Cecil Morella,

Agence France-Presse

 | 

Updated Jun 24, 2023 02:46 PM PHT

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President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at the President’s Hall of Malacañan Palace in Manila on June 2, 2023. Joey Razon, PNA
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at the President’s Hall of Malacañan Palace in Manila on June 2, 2023. Joey Razon, PNA

MANILA - When Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr was swept to power in 2022, human rights activists feared the worst.

Marcos had been a vocal supporter of his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte's drug war that killed thousands of people, and publicly praised his dictator father's rule.

But, as he seeks to strengthen ties with Washington and attract foreign investment, Marcos has presented himself as more moderate than Duterte, who threatened to kill people and repeatedly disparaged human rights.

In reality, nearly a year into Marcos's term, activists say little has changed on the ground.

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After a judge's decision on Wednesday to reject jailed Duterte critic Leila de Lima's bail application, AFP looks at the state of human rights under Marcos.

IS THERE STILL A DRUG WAR?

During Duterte's six-year drug war, thousands of mostly poor men were killed and an international investigation was launched into a possible crime against humanity.

Marcos has continued the crackdown but has pushed for more focus on prevention and rehabilitation.

He told police to go after major drug dealers and not "the kid who makes 100 pesos ($2) a week selling weed".

Yet the bodies keep piling up.

More than 300 drug-related killings have been recorded since Marcos took office last June, according to figures compiled by Dahas, a University of the Philippines-backed research project that keeps count of drug-related killings.

That includes 175 in the first six months of Marcos's presidency.

In November, police acknowledged that 46 drug suspects had been killed since he took office.

DOES MARCOS OPPOSE ICC PROBE?

Duterte withdrew the Philippines from the International Criminal Court in 2019 after the Hague-based tribunal started probing allegations of human rights abuses committed during his anti-narcotics campaign.

Marcos, who has been careful to avoid explicitly criticizing his predecessor's policies, has ruled out rejoining the court.

His government has opposed the ICC's investigation, insisting it has no jurisdiction and that the Philippine justice system is capable of investigating the alleged crimes.

Under pressure from the UN Human Rights Council, the Duterte government began examining hundreds of cases of drug operations that led to deaths.

That probe has continued under Marcos, but there has been little progress.

Only four police officers have been convicted for killing drug suspects in two separate cases since the start of the crackdown in 2016.

Rights groups estimate tens of thousands of people were killed during Duterte's drug war.

Marcos told a democracy summit hosted by US President Joe Biden in March that Manila was committed to "fight impunity" and prosecute crimes, including those allegedly committed in the drug war.

But activists accuse Marcos of paying lip service to human rights during meetings with foreign diplomats, pointing out that he has not explicitly ordered police to end the violence.

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DOES 'RED-TAGGING' STILL HAPPEN?

A decades-old strategy to smear or silence critics in the Philippines has been to link the person or group to communist rebels trying to overthrow the government.

The practice, known as "red-tagging", can result in the arrest, detention or even death of the person targeted, and it exploded under Duterte.

A multi-agency task force set up by Duterte to end the insurgency frequently accused government critics of being communist sympathizers, without providing any evidence.

Hundreds of activists, journalists and lawyers were killed during Duterte's term, many of them after being red-tagged, rights groups say.

Red-tagging has continued under Marcos, who has "not said anything explicit" against the practice, said Carlos Conde of Human Rights Watch in the Philippines.

Vice President Sara Duterte, daughter of the former president and an alleged red-tagger, was recently appointed co-vice chair of the anti-communist task force.

IS IT STILL DANGEROUS FOR JOURNALISTS?

The Philippines remains one of the world's most dangerous countries for journalists and scored below Mexico and Thailand on Reporters Without Borders' latest press freedom index.

Three journalists have been killed since Marcos took power, including a popular radio broadcaster in Manila that drew international concern and unusually quick action by authorities to find the culprits.

During his term, Duterte went after local broadcaster ABS-CBN and online news site Rappler over perceived slights and alleged "fake" news.

ABS-CBN lost its free-to-air license after Congress refused to renew its franchise, while Rappler and its co-founder Maria Ressa have been fighting charges of tax evasion and cyber libel.

Many journalists feared Marcos would adopt Duterte's hostility towards them after he largely shunned mainstream media on the campaign trail.

Since taking office, however, he has been more open to answering questions from reporters, though one-on-one interviews are still rare.

Ressa, meanwhile, was cleared of tax evasion in January, her first acquittal since Duterte's government began filing charges against her.

She still faces potential prison for a cyber libel conviction, while the future of Rappler, which she co-founded in 2012, remains uncertain.

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‘Unfulfilled deals’ may be behind Duterte’s tirades vs Marcos: political analyst

‘Unfulfilled deals’ may be behind Duterte’s tirades vs Marcos: political analyst

Joyce Balancio,

ABS-CBN News

 | 

Updated Jan 29, 2024 11:09 PM PHT

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MANILA (UPDATED) — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. might not be keeping his “end of the bargain” with the Duterte family, that is why he is receiving attacks from some members of the family, a political analyst said Monday.

Prof. Dennis Coronacion from the University of Santo Tomas Department of Political Science said the Marcoses might have sealed some deals with the Dutertes when they were convincing then Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte to be his running mate during the 2022 national elections.

“Ang mga political alliances po natin, or even political parties and coalitions, they are made up of elites. And when these elites form political parties or alliance, there is definitely political arrangements or negotiations that go along with it,” Coronacion told ABS-CBN News.

“Itong rally sa Davao nitong Sunday isa ito sa paraan ng Duterte family to remind the President of, you know, what took place during the negotiations during the last presidential election," he said.

He said the Davao City rally may have been meant to send a "strong message" that failing to honor previous agreements or further marginalizing Vice President Sara Duterte could lead to bigger problems.

CONFIDENTIAL FUNDS

Coronacion explained that is possible that the Duterte family did not take it lightly when Congress removed the confidential funds of the two offices of Vice President Sara Duterte for the 2024.

Speculations that a team from the International Criminal Court had already entered the country to investigate former President Duterte’s drug war, may also have agitated the Dutertes and their supporters.

Marcos Jr.’s shooting back at the older Duterte might also be a sign that the UniTeam is “crumbling”.

“Mukhang lumalabas na napikon na rin ang Pangulo sa mga paratang sa kanya. lalo na doon sa pagkasama sa kanyang pangalan sa watchlist ng mga suspects tungkol sa illegal drugs,” he said.

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“At this point parang hindi maganda ang patutunguhan kung ibabasa natin doon sa reaskyon ng pangulo. Hindi ito magandang sign para sa pagsasamahan nila,” he added.

'PEOPLE TO BEAR BRUNT OF FEUD'

Further he said, if the situation worsens, Vice President Duterte’s function as the concurrent education secretary will be affected.

“Iyong mapapamalakad halimbawa ni Vice President Sara Duterte sa DepEd, somehow baka maapektuhan iyon. For example, patuloy na gigipitin ang budget ng DepEd o di kaya ang opisina ng Vice President so kapag ganito na masama na ang takbo ng kanilang relasyon,” he explained.

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) also expressed concern the passage of laws that will provide additional benefits and salary to teachers might also be compromised given the rift between the leaders of the House of Representatives and VP Duterte who is also the concurrent Education Secretary.

“Walang pakinabang dito ang mamamayang Pilipino. Iyong usapin ng sahod ngayon nakasalang lalo na usapin ng GAA 2024 at ng usapin ng salary standardization law so technically pwede makaapekto iyan,” ACT National Chairperson Vladimer Quetua said.

A youth group also lamented how the political bickering affects governance, and the giving of service to the Filipino people.

“Nagagalit po kami dahil habang nanatiling mataas ng presyo ng bilhin, habang maliliit ang sahod ng mga manggagawa at may kinakaharap tayong krisis sa transportasyon bardagulan ang inaatupag ni Duterte at ng Marcos at basically ginagawa nila ito dahil sa pagaagawan sa kapangyarihan,” Kate Almenzo, Anakbayan’s National Spokesperson said.

“Ang talo dito sa bardagulan ng mga Marcos at Duterte ay ang mga mamamayan,” she added.

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