CHR wants EO that justifies attacks on activists revoked

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) on Sunday renewed its call to the government to rescind Executive Order No. 70, which formed a task force meant to end “local communist armed conflict,” following several attacks against human rights activists since the beginning of the year.

Their appeal comes a few days following the arrest of a journalist and four activists from simultaneous raids in Tacloban City on Friday, allegedly for illegal possession of firearms.

“We petition the government to rescind the policy, as it has been consistently used to justify threats and intimidation of individuals and organizations working for the improvement of human rights and welfare of various marginalized, disadvantaged and vulnerable sectors of society,” said CHR spokesperson Jacqueline de Guia in a statement.

The CHR also called on the government to immediately end all forms of violations against human rights defenders and recognize the legitimacy and importance of their work.

Several human rights groups had previously condemned the order issued in 2018, which institutionalized a “whole-of-nation” approach in addressing insurgency in the country.

‘Patterns of harassment’

Progressive groups said that the order was essentially a crackdown against voices of opposition and critics of the Duterte administration.

For its part, the CHR expressed concern about the “patterns of harassment” against people’s groups and its members since January.

Among the cases they had cited were the disappearance of peasant organizers Emerito Pinza and Romy Candor in Laguna province in January, and the killing of indigenous leader Jay-ar Mercado in Oriental Mindoro the following month.

Members of the Philippine National Police and the Philippine Army were allegedly involved in the two cases.

Last week, Jennifer Agohob, a member of the Union of People’s Lawyers in Mindanao, was arrested in Oroquieta City for an alleged murder case in 2019. She was, however, reportedly unaware of this complaint.

De Guia said some government officials have tried to connect human rights defenders with communist groups and terrorist organizations in order to pursue a “politically motivated defamation campaign” against them.

“The judicial harassment, arbitrary arrest and criminalization of human rights defenders should be a key area of concern of the people and should not be tolerated,” she said.The CHR said it had dispatched its teams to investigate these cases.