Expose and oppose the escalating and systematic human rights violations
Demand justice and accountability for Marcos-Dutertes crimes against Filipinos
As the world celebrates International Human Rights Day, Filipinos wallow in escalating violations of their human rights by the government and rampant corruption of the country’s coffers. Such is the reality under the Marcos-Duterte government, which is more preoccupied with political bickering rather than alleviating the dehumanizing conditions that their people live in.
Despite the pretensions of President Bongbong Marcos Jr. to be respectful of human rights, there is little difference between his government and that of his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte. Student activists, trade unionists and indigenous peoples’ advocates continue to be harassed with trumped-up charges, be victimized by enforced disappearances and some have even been assassinated – much like how it was under former president Duterte. The human rights watchdog, Karapatan, reports that there have been 119 cases of extrajudicial killings (EJK) of activists, trade unionists and peasants since Marcos Jr. took office in July 2022. Another 14 individuals have been victims of enforced disappearance; 43,582 victims of forced evacuation; 63,380 victims of indiscriminate firing; and 46,921 victims of indiscriminate bombing by the military.
This is on top of the fact that until now, Marcos Jr. refuses to admit the human rights abuses perpetrated during his father’s regime. The dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. killed thousands and imprisoned his political rivals during the dark Martial Law period of the 70s and 80s. Rampant corruption was also a key feature during the first Marcos regime, something that we are again experiencing under the presidency of his son and namesake. Individuals who have been charged with corruption-related cases and are allies of the President have also miraculously been acquitted by the courts – despite the clear evidence against them. Examples include Janet Napoles of the “Pork Barrel Scam” and long-time Marcos crony, Juan Ponce Enrile, who was also implicated in the same scandal.
Vice President Sara Duterte, Marcos Jr’s running-mate and the daughter of the former president, has also been blatant in her plunder of the nation’s coffers. While millions of Filipinos linger in abject poverty, their Vice President was exposed to have spent hundreds of millions in taxpayer funds under the guise of “confidential expenses”. The confidential fund scheme exists for use by national security and intelligence agencies to incur expenses without being subjected to normal government auditing processes; why the Office of the Vice President (OVP) or the Department of Education (DepEd) – two agencies led by VP Duterte – would need such funds remains a mystery.
Adding insult to injury, the Marcos Jr. regime launched the Philippine Human Rights Action Plan on International Human Rights Day. Not only is this blatantly performative politics, but it is also an offence to the thousands of victims of human rights abuses during the Martial Law era, and under this second Marcos regime. It cannot hide the fact that Marcos Jr. continues the legacy of tyranny seen under his father and that he is no different from his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte. Like for instance the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTFELCAC) created by Duterte’s Executive Order 70 and the Anti-Terror Law. Two draconian measures used by his predecessor in intensifying state attacks, surveillance, red-tagging and terror tagging, extrajudicially killings of hundreds of activists, illegal arrest and detention, intimidation and harassment and other forms of human rights violations remains in place.
The Asia-Pacific Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (APCHRP) rebukes any notion that the current Marcos regime is an ally to human rights and exposes the rampant abuses that are occurring under the Marcos-Duterte administration. At the same time, we also abhor the widespread corruption that can be seen today which robs millions of impoverished Filipinos from a prosperous future. President Marcos Jr. must be held to account for these continuing acts of repression against the Filipino people; VP Duterte must be brought to justice for her anomalous expenditures. Likewise, his father former President Rodrigo Duterte should be held accountable for his crime against humanity.
It is time to bring the Marcos-Duterte regime to justice!
#MarcosSingilinDutertePanagutin
#KarapatanNgMamamayanIpaglaban
