Philippine human rights situation worsening – HRW exec

MANILA, Philippines — Despite the government’s commitment to protect the human rights of every Filipino, a senior researcher at Human Rights Watch (HRW) believes that the situation has continued to worsen in recent months.

Carlos Conde, senior researcher at the HRW Asia Division, said the assessment of the situation should be based not just on what officials are saying but also on the actual things that happen on the ground.

“The action and the talk do not match,” he said in an interview with “The Chiefs” aired on One News/TV 5 on Thursday night.

“While we are happy that the President made such a commitment, the fact is that this government – going into the fifth year – has been nothing but a human rights catastrophe for a lot of Filipinos,” he added.

During the opening of the human rights summit organized by various government agencies this week, President Duterte maintained that the Philippines is committed to honor its obligations with regard to human rights.

He issued the statement just days after declaring on national television that he does not care about human rights, a remark that he has repeated on various occasions.

“It’s double talk. It is not sincere,” Conde said of the President’s latest statement. “We have seen the death toll since July 2016 and it is growing every day.”

While he welcomed the government’s recent efforts to engage with the international community with regard to the human rights situation in the Philippines, Conde said the situation continues to worsen in many aspects.

“In the manner of red-tagging, it has worsened. The attacks on civil society have worsened. The constricting of the democratic space is really intensifying,” he said.

“You have questionable arrests by the authorities, the continuing assault on the indigenous peoples on the countryside. Right now, the introduction of the anti-terrorism law presents a very complicated dilemma or problem to the human rights movement,” he added.

Ordinary Filipinos, he said, are riled up and are calling for justice. But he noted the fear and the sense that nothing will work as long as Duterte is in power.

“You have an environment with a democratic space that’s constricting, social media dominated by trolls that prevent ordinary people from speaking out, from expressing what they really think,” he said.

Conde said it will be business as usual in the country if the international community fails to act decisively on the situation on the Philippines.

Presidential Human Rights Committee Secretariat Undersecretary Severo Catura claimed that the Philippines is considered a champion of human rights among members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

At a virtual press briefing on Thursday to mark International Human Rights Day, Catura cited the record of the Philippines being among the Top 12 in the Gallup Global Law and Order report on the safest countries in the world.

“Compared to the other countries, let me just say that we are considered as the champion of human rights. This is recognized by our friends, friends at the ASEAN and this has always come out in many of their reports – that recognition,” he said.

Catura explained that the United Nations’ Human Rights Council has also recognized the government’s efforts to advance human rights.

He added such should not be limited to what critical groups are saying about the country, but also the efforts of the government to address the human rights issues. – Emmanuel Tupas, Christina Mendez