Sona must state PH rights policy

Even while the International Criminal Court (ICC) is pursuing its investigation into the Duterte drug war killings, another international organization has called attention to other killings and unresolved cases of human rights violations in the country.

After a tripartite International Labor Organization (ILO) mission checked on the Philippine government’s compliance with its obligations under international labor conventions, particularly on the provisions of freedom of association and the right to organize, it presented an unflattering report dated June 15 at the 111th International Labor Conference in Geneva, Switzerland.

In its report, the ILO committee on international labor standards expressed “deep concern” over reports of trade unionists killed, Red-tagged, and harassed, as well as “serious and systematic violations of the right to freedom of association” in the Philippines. The ILO cited the alleged extrajudicial killings of 10 trade unionists, 17 cases of arrest and detention after police dispersal of labor protests, and raids on the offices and homes of union leaders.

It also reported 17 cases of Red-tagging, intimidation, and harassment of leaders and members of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers, the Kilusang Mayo Uno, the Philippine National Police Non-Uniformed Personnel Association Inc., among others, as well as 12 cases of “forced disaffiliation campaigns and seminars” preventing public school teachers, and workers in a beverage company and a palm oil plantation from joining unions.

The ILO has called on the government to “conduct prompt and effective investigations” into the killings and attacks against union leaders and members, and to provide a “time-bound plan of action” to address these violations by Sept. 1.

Said the ILO: “Observing with regret that the government simply reiterates that the cases are being handled through the regular course of criminal investigation and prosecution, without providing details as to any progress made, the committee reiterates its previous request and expects the government to be in a position to report substantial progress in this regard.”

The All Philippine Trade Union said the ILO report was a “serious setback” to job generation and the economy, as it will affect the country’s efforts to renew trade preferences with the United States and Europe.

Almost at the same time that the ILO report came out, the Digital News Report 2023 of Oxford-based Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism echoed the continuing killings and Red-tagging cases in the country. In its section on the Philippines, the Reuters report said the country’s media landscape “remains largely grim despite the change in the country’s leadership in mid-2022.” It noted that attacks on journalists which escalated during the Duterte administration “have not let up” since President Marcos took office nearly a year ago, with some 75 cases of violations of press freedom reported between June 2022 and April 2023. It cited the killing of broadcaster Percival “Percy Lapid” Mabasa in October last year, surprise visits by policemen to the homes of several reporters, and the “systematic Red-tagging” of members of the media. Being publicly accused of membership in or of supporting communist groups has made journalists targets of online trolling and outright physical assault.

The ILO and Reuters’ reports undoubtedly paint a negative image of the Philippines as a lawless country, where rampant violations of human rights and extrajudicial killings happen with authorities doing very little about them. This inability or unwillingness to prevent killings and prosecute perpetrators was what led the ICC to undertake an unprecedented investigation on crimes against humanity over the thousands of extrajudicial killings by state agents under the Duterte drug war.

It is regrettable that these killings and attacks on labor leaders and journalists, among others, are continuing under an administration that has projected a more benevolent leadership and shunned the execution-style law enforcement in the Duterte drug war. It shows that the culture of impunity, bred and encouraged among government officials and law enforcers during Duterte’s six-year term, remains in force under the new administration.

Mr. Marcos should show a stronger resolve and leadership by stating, unequivocally and categorically, a policy against extrajudicial killings, Red-tagging, attacks, intimidation, and harassment of journalists, union and labor leaders, lawyers, religious leaders, and others who dare exercise their fundamental rights under a democracy. This crucial policy should take center stage in his most important speech—the State of the Nation Address (Sona) to be delivered in a few weeks’ time. In his first Sona in July 2022, the absence of a human rights policy was the most glaring omission that was noted even by the international community. It is of utmost importance for the nation and the world to finally hear his stand on human rights this time around.