Abuses escalate under Duterte even during pandemic, report says

MANILA, Philippines—The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) has been urged to conduct an independent investigation on human rights violations in the Philippines under President Rodrigo Duterte, including a sharp rise in killings during the pandemic.

Investigate PH, an independent human rights group, said it recently examined cases of violation of economic, social and cultural rights of Filipinos under Duterte.

The group found that human rights violations in the Philippines have escalated since the release of the June 2020 report of the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights.

There was a 50 to 70 percent increase in drug war killings per month during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Duterte has also found new tools for repression, through the 2020 Anti-Terrorism Act, the National Task Force to end Local Communist Armed Conflict, and the Joint Industrial Peace Concerns Office, the Investigate PH report said.

These machineries, the report claimed, increased the practice of “red-tagging”, or linking civilians and groups to the operations of Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing New People’s Army either as supporters or regular members of the underground communist groups.

Aside from calling for an independent investigation by the UNHRC on Duterte’s human rights violations, Investigate PH also made 17 other recommendations, including for the International Criminal Court to expedite the recommendation of former ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda to investigate Duterte’s drug war killings.

It also called for international election observer missions to be present during the election campaign, voting and counting for the May 2022 presidential elections to ensure the safety of election officers, volunteers, voters and the public.

The group’s third and final report was launched on Monday (Sept. 13), which coincided with the opening of the 48th Regular Session of the UNHRC. Its first two reports on human rights violations under Duterte were released in March and July 2021.

The group said the third report was based on testimonies and information from resource persons who included leaders of national people’s organizations, a Congress representative, and other former government officials.

All the three reports will be submitted to the UNHRC and the ICC.

TSB