Amnesty: No political funding for human rights research

MANILA, Philippines — Amnesty International does not accept funding from governments and political parties for its human rights research and campaigns, the watchdog said Wednesday.

In an email to Philstar.com through Amnesty International Philippines, the international organization said that most of its funding comes from "personal and unaffiliated donations." According to its website, 72 percent of its funding in 2015 was from individual donors.

It said the donations help Amnesty International "maintain full independence from any and all governments, political ideologies, economic interests or religions."

It said that it has around 7 million members—2 million members and supporters, and 5 million activists—across the world. The membership fee in the Philippines ranges from P50 to P500 depending on the member's income.

"By way of ethical fundraising leading to donations from individuals, we are able to stand firm and unwavering in our defense of universal and indivisible human rights," the group also said.

It said that while it does accept corporate donations, it "[accepts] support only from businesses that have been carefully vetted."

The group was also critical of human rights violations and extrajudicial killings during the presidencies of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Benigno Aquino III.

At a press conference on Monday, Solicitor General Jose Calida said in response to a question about reports in the international media critical of the government's war on drugs, hinted that Amnesty is trying to discredit the Philippine government.

"Especially 'yung Amnesty International, 'di ba? Well, if you research who is funding the Amnesty International, you will find out their agenda," he said.

In February, Amnesty International released a report on the government's Oplan Tokhang. The report said that Amnesty found "a pattern of police inaction and impunity, often insurmountable obstacles for complainants pursuing legal action and difficulties facing human rights defenders working on these issues" in 33 drug-related killings it documented.

Amnesty also claimed that some of the killings were done by the police themselves or by hired killers, citing interviews with two alleged guns for hire.

"Tied up sa economics din iyan eh. You will find your answer when you find out who is funding Amnesty International," Calida said Monday.

President Rodrigo Duterte dismissed the report as unverified.

"Why would we kill people? Ano itong gobyernong ito tagapatay na parang aso (Do they think this government kills people like dogs)? There has to be a reason. Find out the reason and find out the truth," he said in response.

In its global report released in late February, Amnesty named Duterte, Trump, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan among leaders it said are “wielding a toxic agenda that hounds, scapegoats and dehumanizes entire groups of people.”

The Philippines was among five countries mentioned in the report’s foreword as having serious human rights abuses.

The Palace said that the AI report did not reflect the sentiments of Filipinos.

Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said more than 80 percent of Filipinos "are satisfied with the administration’s campaign against illegal drugs and its handling of criminality, according to recent surveys."

He stressed "that the state does not condone extrajudicial killings perpetrated by common criminals wrongly credited in news reports as part of police operations."

The government has seen criticism of the drug war, especially from foreign governments and organizations, as interference in its domestic issues.

"Tied up sa economics din iyan eh. You will find your answer when you find out who is funding Amnesty International," Calida said Monday.