PHL’s ‘improved’ human rights situation
PHL’s ‘improved’ human rights situation
As the visiting European Union (EU) parliamentarians were declaring that the human rights situation in the Philippines has “improved,” a 17-year-old male and two others had apparently been abducted in a Batangas town. Very few details were available as this column was being written, but it was only one of the many abductions that are still happening despite the change in administration last July, 2022.
It may not be another instance of State terrorism against a critic of government. But together with harassment, “red-tagging,” and other attacks, some abductions have involved political and social activists and their families as victims. These are still occurring despite the promise of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. during his State of the Nation Address (SONA) last July that he would protect human rights. He made the same pledge in his September speech at the 77th United Nations General Assembly.
The media reported at least eight instances of harassment, threats, and human rights violations during the first two months of 2023. What makes them alarming is that some of the victims seem to have been targeted because of the involvement of their kin in those groups the previous regime had labeled “red” and “terrorist.”
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