Philippines a 'purgatory' for non-rich, Australian prof says

MANILA, Philippines - An Australian professor and human rights advocate lamented the "worsening" inequality between the rich and the poor that leads to human rights violations in the Philippines, a country which he called a "purgatory" for those who are not wealthy.

Prof. Gill Boehringer, a former Dean of Macquarie University Law School in Sydney, reportedly said in a statement that inequality in the country worsens, hunger and poverty "continue at high rates," while lack of jobs and child labor "remain significant problems."

“In a country with a semi-feudal political-economic system generating a huge gap between rich and the masa, the former will fight in every way possible to maintain the structure of social, political and economic relations-including relations of coercion, violence and state/corporate terror- which have made the Philippines a paradise for the wealthy and purgatory for the rest,” a statement from human rights group Karapatan quoted Boehringer as saying.

Boehringer, who reportedly has written a number of articles on human rights and the Philippine elections and justice system, said the administration of President Benigno Aquino III "has failed to act to effectively prosecute and sanction human rights violators."

In a statement in December last year, Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said the Aquino administration has implemented various initiatives to uphold the human rights of every individual.

Lacierda laid out these initiatives of the President since he assumed office in 2010, which include the military's establishment of Human Rights Office, the freeing of the Morong 43, and the creation of an inter-agency committee on extra-legal killing, enforced disappearances, torture and other grave violations of the right to life and security of persons.

In his speech during the 62nd anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights in 2010, Aquino vowed that human rights violators will be held accountable while the government will protect the rights of all citizens.

"Human rights has to be universal, has to be for everyone. When one’s rights are violated, you set the groundwork for violating everybody’s rights—so all includes our security forces, our peasantry, those below the poverty line, those who have more in this life," said Aquino.

Freedom of Information Bill

Boehringer also pointed out the government’s "failure to prioritize Freedom of Information (FO) legislation which is essential for a genuine human rights regime.”

Malacañang had said it created a study group and proposed its own version of the FOI bill in the previous Congress.

But Aquino, who earlier supported for the passage of an FOI bill, did not include the measure in his list of priority bills.

In the 14th Congress, the FOI bill almost reached passage but was shelved due to lack of quorum in the House of Representatives on its last session day in 2010.

In the recent Congress, the measure failed to get past the House Committee on Public Information.

Related story: FOI bill to be filed through indirect initiative