APRIL 2022

Filipinos' Rights
“Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes
freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart
information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” - United
Nations: Universal Declaration of Human Rights

News News
Philippines 'Drug ‘Red-tagging’
War' Killings Rise continues amid
During Pandemic the pandemic
The Philippine The Philippine
government's "drug government has
war" killings intensified launched a campaign of
during the Covid-19 raids, arrests, and
pandemic in 2020. killings of activists and
Unnecessary arrests human rights
during lockdowns also defenders who have
increased, Human
Rights Watch says.
The Brutal System been 'red-tagged' – or
accused of links to
Attacks made by the OPINION: Editorial Cartoon 'communist' groups. In
police, military, and recent days, individuals
unidentified gunmen on leftist activists, rights and groups that set up "community pantries" in their
defenders, and journalists also increased. Philippine local neighborhoods have also been accused by police
police subjected curfew violators – including children and government officials of links with 'communists'.
– to abusive treatment. Since Rodrigo Duterte The Alliance of Health Workers has also expressed
became president, nearly 8,000 alleged drug suspects alarm at being 'red tagged' by the government-created
had been killed. Media also came under renewed National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed
attack as did ABS-CBN, which was shut down by Conflict after calling for increased government
Congress for criticizing the government's "drug war". support.

1
 OPINION: Editorial

Human Rights: The Real Violator

Despite last year’s 65 percent approval rating of President Rodrigo
Duterte, official government numbers showed that from July 1, 2016 to
September 30, 2020, officers of the Philippine National Police and the
Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency killed 5,903 people during anti-
drug operations, not even including those killed by unidentified
gunmen who, according to Human Rights Watch and other rights
groups, work in tandem with local police and officials. In other words,
65 percent of Filipinos are oblivious to the fact that the Duterte
administration's iron fist may have captivated the world, but it doesn’t
make up for its continuous violation of rights, most especially of the
unprivileged.

In fact, while the President's War on Drugs was

designed to reduce crime in the country, it has actually
increased the rate of human rights violations over time.
During the lockdown months of April to July, "drug war"
killings spiked by more than 50%, according to data
gathered by #RealNumbersPH. Children who have been
left behind by victims are among those who have been
severely affected by the violence of the "drug war." If those
65 percent of the public analyzed this data carefully, they
would see how a single unjustified killing might result in
another person's wretched future.
Filipinos are said to be both the finest and worst supporters. Supporting
someone, however, is not the same as blindly applauding them. If the next
President begins by assessing the situations of those whose rights are sorely
affected by the aftershocks of this administration and people learn how to support a
leader with their eyes open, it's not impossible that this country could gradually
recover not only from the violations of human rights but also from encouraging a
nation that tolerates a human rights offender.

Bible Verse References:

Compelling Truth Organization. (2012). What is a biblical view of

Proverbs 31:8-9
human rights? Review of What is a biblical view of human rights?. From
https://www.compellingtruth.org/human-rights.html

Amnesty International. (2021, April 26). Philippines: Country faces

Open your mouth for the mute, health and human rights crisis one year into the COVID-19 pandemic. From
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2021/04/philippines-faces-

for the rights of all who are health-human-rights-crisis-covid/

Human Rights Watch. (2020, December 16). World Report 2021: Rights
destitute. Open your mouth, Trends in Philippines. https://www.hrw.org/world-
report/2021/country-chapters/philippines
judge righteously, defend the Parrocha, A. (2021, December 14). Duterte’s trust, approval ratings climb

rights of the poor and needy. in Q4. Philippine News

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1162747
Agency. From