HISTORIA

M a t u t o s a N a k a r a a n

Pagbabago, Walang progreso

Model

D O N N A
S T R O U P E
GERPHIS

January Vol. 03
 TABLE OF

CONTENTS
04 BRIEF HISTORY OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE

EARLIEST HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS

05 EXPLANATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

06 EFFECTS OF HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS

08 SPANISH COLONIZATION OF THE

PHILIPPINES

11 JAPANESE COLONIZATION OF THE

PHILIPPINES

14 RECENT HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN

THE PHILIPPINES

25 ANALYSIS

26 CONCLUSION
 BRIEF
history

EARLIEST HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS

Human rights, a privilege given to every human being the

moment they are born into this world no matter where they
are. In modern times, violating these rights will cost a
person serious consequences. Though this may be true, the
Philippines have had several cases of human rights
violations all throughout its history. Most of the violations
happened during the Spanish and Japanese colonization
but despite this, during Ferdinand Marcos’ rule, martial law
also caused a lot of violations to the Filipinos. And in recent
times, President Duterte committed numerous extra judicial
killings through his war on drugs campaign. The earliest
human rights violation dates back during the Spanish
colonization where Filipinos were being treated as close to
animals. More of this will be explained in the latter parts of
the magazine.
 ABOUT
human rights
EXPLANATION

As mentioned, human rights is a privilege

that every human being was born with. It
isn’t something a country or state grants us,
but by simply existing as humans, we are
granted these rights no matter where we are
in this world. Anyone who violates this can be
held accountable for their actions and
depending on which human rights they
violated or how severe the case is, the
perpetrator could be sent to jail for years or
even be sent to deathrow.

IMPORTANCE

Why exactly are human rights important? The

best answer to this is simply because it protects
everyone from abuse and that their needs are
met. Human rights also give a person more
freedom in a country, such as freedom of speech
and freedom to choose one’s religion. Human
rights also ensure that every single person is
equal in terms of these rights, which means that
no matter what social standing a person
belongs to, they would all have the same human
rights. In a sense, Human rights can preserve
one's humanity so that a person can live
knowing that their dignity as a human being is
still intact.
 ABOUT
human rights
EFFECTS
ON AN INDIVIDUAL

Violating human rights can

affect an individual in several
ways. In terms of physical
abuse, the victim might get
traumatized by the event and
possibly cause mental illnesses
to the victim. As for the
perpetrator, it could lead to
them serving a life in prison
depending on how severe their
crimes were. If the right to
education is not granted to a
person or child, it could cause
one to lack the basic skills a
person requires in order to live within the society; skills such as reading and writing
and counting. Lack of basic needs can also affect an individual’s health in many ways.
A person can become malnourished due to lack of food or they could get sick due to
the lack of clothing and shelter. Physical abuse, lack of education, and lack of basic
needs is not the only human rights violation, taking away a person's freedom to
speech, religion, or to vote are also violations of these rights. Though this may be true,
physical abuse has the most impact on an individual compared to all of these
violations.
 ABOUT
human rights
EFFECTS
ON SOCIETY AS A WHOLE

When human rights are

violated, it not only affects an
individual but it also affects the
whole society. If rights such as
freedom of speech or right to
vote are violated, it means that
people would not have the
ability to choose their leaders
and voice out how they want to
be governed. This could
ultimately lead to the country’s
downfall since a lack of opinion
and feedback is present. A
nation needs everyone’s
cooperation and not only the leaders’ in order to make the country prosper. This is also
true for companies. If a CEO is not willing to hear out any feedback from its
employees, then the company is doomed to fail since it lacks proper troubleshooting
measures.
 SPANISH COLONIZATION

OF THE PHILIPINES
During the Spanish colonization, the Spaniards
introduced several things to the Philippines and
the Filipinos. Its safe to say that thanks to them,
the Filipinos managed to get a grasp of what
modern civilization looked like back in that time.
They were also the ones who introduced
Christianity into this country. The Spaniards
introduced a lot of things to the Filipinos and it
proved to be useful; even the name of the country
was given by them. Despite all the positive things
the Spaniards brought to the Filipinos, they were
also the ones who introduced several of the
abuses that the Filipinos had to go through and
endured back in that time. Majority of the
Filipinos did not have equal rights to the
Spaniards back in that time, only a few Filipinos
did but even so, the Filipinos who did have
somewhat equal rights to the Spaniards were
discriminated against.
POLO Y SERVICIO
Polo y servicio is also known as forced labor
and this is the most well known form of
abuse that the Spaniards did to the
Filipinos during their colonization. Filipino
males around the ages of 16-60 years old
were forced to work on any projects the
Spaniards wanted despite the dangerous
and hazardous conditions the project
required. Before 1884, the number of work
days was 40 days. This ultimately resulted
in many Filipino males dying or getting
heavily injured which also made the main
source of income of the Filipinos,
agriculture, to decrease and affected their
families as well. Though this may be true, it
is also true that because of this, roads and
bridges were made but at the cost of lives
and injuries.

HEAVY TAXES
Another example of abuse the Spaniards

gave the Filipinos was that they imposed

heavy taxes on only Filipinos. It did not

matter how poor they were, they were still

given taxes that are just impossible to

pay without going into debt. Adding to

this problem would be the forced labor

which caused so many injuries. This made

it impossible for Filipinos to get any work

done and make money for themselves

and their families. And in rare cases

where Filipinos would have a bountiful

harvest, it still would not be enough to

pay off the taxes or their debts.

 LOWER

EDUCATION LEVEL
The last example of abuses for the Spanish
colonization would be the low education for Filipinos.
During the Spanish colonization, Filipinos did not
have the privilege of higher education. But in rare
cases, some Filipinos did get education from top
universities in that time like Jose Rizal. The education
system during this era was mostly inclined to convert
the indigenous tribes to become catholics and to
learn the Spanish language. Friars of this time, who
were also the teachers, also taught agriculture and
some industrial techniques to the Filipinos. But other
than that, the friars never taught the Filipinos
anything else. It was as if the Spaniards wanted to
train the Filipinos for their own gain and benefit and
not so that the Filipinos could prosper on their own.
JAPANESE COLONIZATION OF THE

PHILIPPINES
In the years between 1942 to 1945, the Philippines were under

occupation of the Japanese Forces where the imperial forces

occupied the commonwealth of the Philippines during the 2nd

World War. The invasion started on December 1941 when the

Japanese launched their attack and bombed the Pearl Harbor.

Many American Aircraft were damaged in which the Philippine’s

air cover was severely weakened. The Philippines forces retreated

after just 4 days where General Douglas MacArthur was ordered

out, hence leaving most of his troops at Corregidor on March 11,

1942. Most of the Defenders of our Philippine country were left sick

and starving, with this they surrendered and were forced to endure

the infamous Bataan Death March on which up to 7,000 to 10,000

people were either injured or murdered while those who were left

in Corregidor surrendered and became slaves. The Japan regime

occupied the Philippines for over 3 years until they eventually

surrendered by a highly effective strategy that General Douglas

MacArthur came up with. A highly effective guerilla attack which

consisted of sixty percent of the nation. Thus ended the long reign

of the Japanese colony.

PROSTITUTION
"comfort women"
As stated earlier, many of those who
survived and the rest of the nation were
forced into labor. There are many kinds of
labor and one of them are called “Comfort
women”. This is a term that was used when
Japan went rampant during World War 2.
In the Philippines, more than 1000 women
were enslaved to being prostitute even
while being underaged. The Japanese
stripped these individuals of their human
rights and used them like objects solely for
comfort, pleasure and excitement. Further
example of these was a woman named
Narcisa Claveria who was scarred for life
because of this past. She is one of the last
survivors of the sexual servitude set up by
the Japanese imperial colony. She states
that “If I could prevent the sun from rising,
I would. Because when night falls, they
would start raping us” She also says that
she was 12 at the time. This completely
shows how much of her human rights were
stripped away by the Japanese Colony.
They had no respect and violated human
rights as they pleased.
 SLAVERY
Similar to the aforementioned Comfort

Women. Many of the survivors became

prisoners of the Japanese colony. Those of

the prisoners where then used as slaves

and were forced to do hard labor. With

this, it disregards the human rights of

freedom to choose for themselves. They

are left with nothing but orders from one

Japanese person to another. There are

many infrastructures that were demanded

by the Japanese to be made by the slaves.

One of those was the project of the Burma

Railway. The Japanese forced a mix of

different nationalities of people to work on

this in which over 100,000 civilians died

from either being overworked or not being

given any care at all. Violations of human

rights were prominent as they had no

more freedom of anything, everything was

under the control of the Japanese imperial

colony.
MARTIAL
LAW
Halfway through his second term,
President Ferdinand Marcos
declared martial law in the
Philippines on September 21, 1972.
The main justification of the
proclamation was the existence of
the Maoist New People's Army, an
armed force striving to overthrow the
government. Thousands of citizens
were detained without a warrant of
arrest based on mere suspicion of
aiding or sympathizing with the rebel
force. Corruption was rampant, the
rich became richer and the poor
poorer, and human rights violations
were commonplace, especially in
prisons. President Marcos's tyrannical
reign ended in February 1986 during
the People Power Revolution, the
first peaceful revolution in history.
 EXTRA JUDICIAL
KILLINGS

Human rights violations were widespread

during martial law. According to the
Human Rights Violations Victims'
Memorial Commission (HRVVMC), there
was a total of 11,103 victims of human
rights violations, although only those with
approved claims for compensation were
counted. Amnesty International (AI)
claims that more than 100,000 people
were affected. The most heinous of
crimes committed was murder. The
HRVVMC says 2,326 humans were killed
or disappeared, while AI stated that at
least 3,200 innocent people were killed.
WRONGFUL
IMPRISONMENT
Before the declaration of martial law, the
writ of habeas corpus was suspended by
President Marcos. The suspension of this
legal document allowed for the arrest of
individuals without a warrant or due
process. Warrantless detainment
continued during martial law, despite the
document being reinstated. AI claims
that at least 70,000 people were
wrongfully imprisoned during martial law.
TORTURE AND RAPE
OF PRISONERS
THE STORIES OF THE SURVIVORS OF MARTIAL
LAW ARE DIFFICULT TO HEAR. THE CRUELTY
KNEW NO BOUNDS. RAPE, SEXUAL ABUSE OF
MINORS, MUTILATION, ELECTRIC SHOCK,
PHYSICAL BEATING, WATERBOARDING,
STRANGULATION, AND BRANDING. THESE
METHODS OF TORTURE WERE PRESENT IN
PRISONS DURING THE MARCOS DICTATORSHIP.
THE HRVVMC HAS APPROVED 2,104 CLAIMS OF
TORTURE. 238 CASES OF RAPE AND FORCIBLE
ABDUCTION, 217 OF MUTILATION AND SEXUAL
ABUSE INVOLVING MINORS, 182 OF CRUEL,
INHUMANE, AND DEGRADING TREATMENT, AND
1,467 CASES OF PSYCHOLOGICAL, MENTAL, AND
EMOTIONAL HARM. HOWEVER, AI CLAIMS THAT
OVER 34,000 PEOPLE WERE TORTURED DURING
MARTIAL LAW.
"Drugs and Death"
 EXTRA JUDICIAL
KILLINGS

DUTERTE'S STANCE ON DRUGS IS WELL KNOWN. HE

VILIFIES ANYONE INVOLVED, DRUG DEALERS AND DRUG
USERS ALIKE. HE HAS EXPLICITLY STATED MULTIPLE
TIMES THAT THE POLICE SHOULD KILL ANYONE WHO
PARTAKES IN ILLEGAL SUBSTANCES. MORE THAN 8,000
INDIVIDUALS ACCUSED OF DRUG DEALING OR DRUG USE
WERE KILLED IN THE FIRST YEAR OF HIS PRESIDENCY. IN
DECEMBER 2018, THE COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS
(CHR) DECLARED THAT THE NUMBER OF DRUG-WAR
KILLINGS COULD BE AS HIGH AS 27,000.

THE POLICE CLAIM THAT THESE SHOOTINGS WERE IN

SELF-DEFENSE, BUT THERE HAVE BEEN MANY CASES
WHERE SECURITY CAMERA FOOTAGE IS DAMAGED OR
LOST, STREET LIGHTS MYSTERIOUSLY STOPPED
WORKING, AND MANY BELIEVE THAT DRUGS AND GUNS
ARE PLANTED ONTO THE VICTIM AFTER THE SHOOTING.
THE UN HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICE STATED THAT THEY ARE
WILLING TO ASSIST THE PHILIPPINES IN IMPLEMENTING
POLICIES THAT WOULD HELP STOP WIDESPREAD HUMAN
RIGHTS VIOLATIONS AND PREVENT THEIR RECURRENCE.
“IF I BECOME PRESIDENT, I ADVISE YOU
PEOPLE TO PUT UP SEVERAL FUNERAL
PARLOR BUSINESSES BECAUSE I AM
AGAINST ILLEGAL DRUGS[...] I MIGHT KILL
SOMEONE BECAUSE OF IT.” CHILLING
WORDS FROM PRESIDENT RODRIGO
DUTERTE DURING HIS CAMPAIGN IN 2015. IN
JUNE 2016, THE WAR ON DRUGS IGNITED
AFTER HIS ELECTION. EXTRA-JUDICIAL
KILLING, FALSE IMPRISONMENT, ABUSE OF
POWER, AND CORRUPTION BECAME
RAMPANT IN THE PHILIPPINES.
 ANTI-TERROR LAW

THE ANTI-TERRORISM ACT OF 2020 WAS A BILL

INTRODUCED IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
SIGNED INTO LAW BY PRESIDENT RODRIGO
DUTERTE, AND BECAME EFFECTIVE ON JULY 18, 2020.
NOW KNOWN AS REPUBLIC ACT 11479, THE LAW IS
CONTROVERSIAL IN MANY WAYS. THE
INTERNATIONAL SERVICE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
(ISHR) CLAIMS THAT THE ACT THREATENS THE
SAFETY OF HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS IN THE
PHILIPPINES.
THE LAW WAS ORIGINALLY VAGUE ENOUGH TO
DETAIN CITIZENS WHO WERE LAWFULLY
PROTESTING. THE DOCUMENT EXEMPTS CITIZENS
EXPRESSING DISSENT FROM APPREHENSION,
ALTHOUGH A CAVEAT WAS PLACED THAT STATED:
"WHICH ARE NOT INTENDED TO CAUSE DEATH OR
SERIOUS PHYSICAL HARM TO A PERSON, TO
ENDANGER A PERSON’S LIFE, OR TO CREATE A
SERIOUS RISK TO PUBLIC SAFETY."

THE VAGUENESS OF INTENT TO HARM COULD EASILY LEAD

TO THE POLICE ABUSING THEIR POWER. FORTUNATELY,
THIS WAS CHANGED IN DECEMBER 2021 WHEN THE "KILLER
CAVEAT" WAS STRICKEN FROM THE LAW. NONETHELESS,
THE LAW STILL ALLOWS FOR A COUNCIL TO ARREST
ANYONE THEY DEEM A TERRORIST WITHOUT A WARRANT,
AND SUSPECTS CAN BE DETAINED FOR UP TO 24 DAYS
WITHOUT CHARGE. OTHER PARTS OF THE LAW REMAIN
VAGUE AND CAN BE EASILY ABUSED, AND UN HUMAN
RIGHTS CHIEF MICHELLE BACHELET SAID THAT THE LAW
COULD OBSCURE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CRITICISM
AND CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR.
 IN JULY 2020, THE ANTI-TERROR ACT OF 2020 WAS
SIGNED INTO LAW. THIS DOCUMENT IS
CONTROVERSIAL DUE TO ITS VAGUENESS AND THE
HARSH PUNISHMENTS THAT IT ALLOWS ON MERE
SUSPICION. UNFORTUNATELY, NEWS AND GENERAL
CONCERN FOR THESE ISSUES HAVE DECLINED DUE
TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. ADDITIONALLY,
PRESIDENT DUTERTE’S TERM ENDS THIS YEAR, 2022.
 AN INTROSPECTIVE:
WHAT WE LEARNED

THESE PAST EVENTS SHOW THAT POWER CAN

AND WILL BE ABUSED IF ALLOWED. THE FACT
THAT THESE CIRCUMSTANCES HAVE REPEATED
MULTIPLE TIMES IN THE PAST 500 YEARS OF OUR
COUNTRY SHOWS THAT WE HAVE AN EASILY
EXPLOITABLE SYSTEM. CORRUPTION IS RAMPANT,
CRIMINALS THAT ARE RICH AND POWERFUL GET
AWAY SCOT-FREE, AND THE WORKING CLASS
AND THE POOR ARE EXPLOITED EVERY DAY. THE
MOST IMPORTANT THING TO LEARN FROM THIS
PAPER IS THAT SOMETHING MUST BE DONE TO
STOP THIS.

TO PREVENT THESE HUMAN RIGHTS

VIOLATIONS FROM RECURRING, WE MUST
STUDY OUR HISTORY AND LEARN FROM IT.
THE TRUTH SHOULD ALWAYS BE MADE PUBLIC
AND THE YOUTH SHOULD BE EDUCATED ON
THE ACTUAL EVENTS THAT OCCURRED IN OUR
COUNTRY. THE INDIVIDUALS RESPONSIBLE
FOR COMMITTING, ALLOWING, AND
MASTERMINDING THESE ABUSES SHOULD BE
BROUGHT TO JUSTICE, AND THE PEOPLE MUST
STAND UP AND FIGHT AGAINST OPPRESSION.
 CONCLUSION

HUMAN RIGHTS IS A SERIOUS MATTER THAT NO ONE

SHOULD TAKE LIGHTLY, IT SHOULD BE SOMETHING THAT IS
Anunque RESPECTED AND FOLLOWED. HOWEVER, THIS MAGAZINE
SHOWS HOW MUCH WAS VIOLATED IN THE PAST. FROM
THE SPANISH COLONY, TO THE JAPANESE COLONY AND
UNTIL NOW IN THE MODERN ERA. FROM VIOLATIONS SUCH
AS THE POLO Y SERVICIO, TO THE RISE OF COMFORT
WOMEN, AND NOWADAYS TO THE EXTRA JUDICIAL
KILLINGS. IT CAN BE SEEN THAT VIOLATING HUMAN RIGHTS
De guzman
IS NOT SEEN AS A SERIOUS MATTER. EVEN AFTER ALL THIS
TIME, COUNTRIES STILL HAVEN’T LEARNED FROM THEIR
PAST MISTAKES AS THE CYCLE STILL CONTINUES EVEN
UNTIL THE 21ST CENTURY. THE RECENT WAR ON DRUGS IS A
GOOD EXAMPLE ON HOW THE VIOLATION OF HUMAN
RIGHTS CAN STILL BE SEEN NOWADAYS WITH MANY
EXTRA-JUDICIAL KILLINGS OCCURING IN THE COUNTRY.
Diokno

THIS CLEARLY SHOWS THAT THOSE WITH POWER

WILL STILL ABUSE THEIR POWER AND STRIP PEOPLE
OF THEIR RIGHTS. WHAT WE CAN HOPE NOW IS
THAT THOSE WITH POWER LEARN THE MISTAKES Tan
THAT WERE MADE BY THE PAST EVENTS AND
CHANGE FOR THE BETTER. WE SHOULD ALWAYS
BRING FACTS AND EVIDENCE TO PUBLIC PARTIES,
RAISE AWARENESS AND BE AN ADVOCATE FOR THE
PROPER FOLLOWING OF HUMAN RIGHTS. SLOWLY, IF
IT IS DONE CORRECTLY, WE WILL BE ABLE TO SY, n.
CONTINUE ON LESSENING HUMAN RIGHTS
VIOLATIONS. ONE MUST BE AN EXAMPLE AND
SPREAD NOT JUST IN OUR COUNTRY, BUT TO ALL
THOSE WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED VIOLATION OF
THEIR HUMAN RIGHTS. SY, w.