HRW urges Bongbong Marcos: Tackle stance on rights issues in first Sona

FILE PHOTO: Nanette Castillo grieves over the dead body of her son Aldrin, an alleged drug user killed by unidentified assailants in Manila in this October 2017 photo. AFP

MANILA, Philippines — The New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said it expects President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to make a statement on how he will redress past injustices and protect Filipinos’ human rights at his first State of the Nation Address (Sona) on Monday.

The group was interested in Marcos’ stance on the violent drug war that had hounded the previous administration and led to a complaint filed against former President Rodrigo Duterte, father of his running mate, Vice President Sara Duterte, before the International Criminal Court (ICC).

“Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has become president of a country riven by human rights problems and overlaid with a systematic failure to hold abusers accountable and ensure justice for victims,” HRW deputy Asia director Phil Robertson said in a statement on Friday.

Robertson further noted that Marcos’ first Sona “should be all about how he will protect the rights of all Filipinos and right past wrongs.”

He said that after Marcos’ successful bid in the 2022 presidential polls, he now has the “golden opportunity to get the Philippines on the right track by setting out clear priorities and policies to improve human rights in the country.”

“After six years of [former President Rodrigo] Duterte’s disastrous ‘drug war’ that killed thousands of people, Marcos needs to make a clean break by showing he is serious about accountability for past human rights violations, as well as preventing abuses in the future,” he added.

HRW’s Sona pointers

In the statement, the HRW also outlined specific issues they hoped to discuss during Marcos’ Sona.

They renewed the call for Marcos to dismantle the Duterte legacy by directing the Philippine National Police and the Department of Interior and Local Government to end their “abusive and unlawful” anti-illegal drug operations.

READ: ‘I don’t care about human rights’: Duterte and the failure to see human rights’ role in progress

“To bring accountability for ‘drug war’ killings – in only one case have police been successfully prosecuted for murder – Marcos should order the Department of Justice, including the National Bureau of Investigation, to conduct a credible, impartial, and transparent review of alleged extrajudicial killings,” the HRW also noted.

Dismissing charges against former Senator Leila de Lima should also be pursued by the newly-installed chief of state, according to the rights watchdog.

Marcos should repair the country’s weakened credibility with the International Criminal Court by ensuring his administration’s full cooperation with the probe, the HRW added.

READ: Next PH president must undo Duterte’s ‘rights-abusing’ policies – watchdog

The President was also urged to “state unequivocally” that the government will do less red-tagging of individuals, including media professionals, deemed critical of the government.

They then called on Marcos to “firmly commit to respecting the rights to freedom of expression [of] the media, which were attacked relentlessly under the Duterte administration.”

The HRW also restated the need for Marcos to appoint Commission on Human Rights members with a clean track record and reputation.

“He should ensure that the selection process for the five members of the next commission is transparent and inclusive, taking into account the perspectives of civil society and human rights groups,” they further explained.

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