Reverse ‘rights violations, impunity’ under Duterte, HRW tells Marcos
MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has a “golden opportunity” to undo policies of his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte that resulted in “rampant rights violations and deep-seated impunity,” Human Rights Watch said Friday.
The New York-based watchdog said Marcos should lay out plans to improve the human rights situation in the country in his first State of the Nation Address on Monday, including dropping charges against some of Duterte's fiercest critics and ensuring accountability for abuses during the former president’s “war on drugs.”
“After six years of Duterte’s disastrous ‘drug war’ that killed thousands of people, Marcos needs to make a clean break by showing he is serious about accountability for past human rights violations as well as preventing abuses in the future,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at HRW.
In HRW’s wish list is for Marcos to order the Department of Justice, including the National Bureau of Investigation, to conduct a “credible, impartial, and transparent” review of alleged extrajudicial killings, arguing that the previous review of the agency of 52 killings by police is insufficient.
The group also wants Marcos to ensure that his administration will fully cooperate with the International Criminal Court investigation on the alleged executions in Davao City during the time that Duterte was mayor there and the killings during the course of the former president’s flagship “drug war.”
It also said that Marcos should order the Philippine National Police and the Department of the Interior and Local Government to stop “abusive and unlawful” drug raids.
The HRW also wants Marcos to appoint members to the Commission on Human Rights who have proven track records for upholding human rights and are independent and impartial.
“He should ensure that the selection process for the five members of the next commission is transparent and inclusive, taking into account the perspectives of civil society and human rights groups,” the group said.
It is also asking Marcos to unequivocally state that he will end red-tagging, or the practice of accusing civilians of involvement in the armed communist rebellion which was rampant during the administration of Duterte.
“Red-tagging is used to harass and intimidate critics of the government, and in a number of cases people who have been red-tagged have been arbitrarily arrested, physically harmed, or killed,” HRW said.
Further, HRW also wants Marcos to drop cases against former Sen. Leila de Lima, who has been detained for over five years on drug charges she claims to be trumped up, and Rappler CEO Maria Ressa, who could face jail time if her cyber libel conviction is sustained by the Supreme Court.
The group also wants Marcos to “firmly commit to respecting the rights to freedom of expression [of] the media” by reversing the Securities and Exchange Commission’s order to shut down Rappler over foreign ownership issues and by overturning the National Telecommunications Commission’s blocking of the websites of independent news outlets Bulatlat and Pinoy Weekly, along with several progressive organizations.
‘Right past wrongs’
“Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has become president of a country riven by human rights problems and overlaid with a systematic failure to hold abusers accountable and ensure justice for victims,” HRW’s Robertson said. “His nationwide address should be all about how he will protect the rights of all Filipinos, and right past wrongs.”
Whether Marcos will actually heed this call remains to be seen, considering that Duterte is a close ally of his family and that his vice president, Sara Duterte, is the former president’s daughter.
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For one, the Marcos administration is not immediately cooperating with the ICC’s invitation for the Philippines to provide observations on the request of the international tribunal’s prosecutor to resume the preliminary investigation into the crimes against humanity allegedly committed during the course of the campaign against illegal drugs.
Instead, Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra — justice secretary to former president Rodrigo Duterte — said the government is still considering its options, which include challenging the ICC’s jurisdiction and the admissibility of the case or keeping communication with the tribunal open.
The government’s final course of action will be determined following consultations with the Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Justice, international law experts and the Office of the President, Guevarra said.
Marcos and his Cabinet officials have said that they would continue the Duterte administration's "war on drugs" with a more pronounced focus on human rights and targeting drug use at its source.
On the appointment of new members of the CHR, Gustavo Gonzales, United Nations resident coordinator in the Philippines, said that Marcos told him during their meeting that he is “very much interested … in ensuring a consultation for the nomination of the new” members of the human rights body that was established a year after the ouster of his father in 1986.
The president has not addressed the issue of red-tagging directly, although his national security adviser, Clarita Carlos, has shunned this, while his acting defense chief, retired Gen. Jose Faustino Jr., indicated more of a continuation of the Duterte-era practice.
Likewise, Marcos has not addressed media freedom issues directly, although his campaign — and to an extent his administration — made covering him rather difficult. For one, accreditation to cover his upcoming SONA has been quite the headache for journalists, with media IDs still not being distributed as of publication.
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