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MANILA, Philippines – The government’s first Human Rights Summit is a mere attempt to deodorize numerous rights violations that occurred in the country, an international human rights group claimed.
According to the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP), it is ironic to think that the three-day summit called by the Department of Justice (DOJ) occurred in the same week that alleged abuses against activists were committed.
“We find it ironic that arrests and rights violations continue in the same week that the Philippine government launches a human rights summit,” ICHRP President Peter Murphy said Thursday.
“It is clear that this platform is nothing more than an extravagant deodorizer designed to exonerate state-sanctioned perpetrators of their crimes,” he added.
The ICHRP was referring to the arrest of peasant leader Amanda Echanis, daughter of Anakbayan president and peace adviser Randall Echanis.
“On December 2, a land rights defender Amanda Echanis was illegally arrested and placed with weapons and explosives by the Philippine authorities in Cagayan, north of the country’s capital. Amanda is also the daughter of peace activist Randall Echanis, who was murdered at his home last August, ”the group said.
However, the head of the Philippine National Police (PNP), Debold Sinas, denied such acts.
The group further said that President Rodrigo Duterte, in his most recent tirade, accused progressive lawmakers of communists without offering any evidence to back up his accusations.
On Thursday, when the country commemorated International Human Rights Day, seven peasant leaders were arrested. The PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group said the arrests were due to the crackdown on loose firearms, as various weapons, ammunition and even grenades were seized during the implementation of the search warrants.
But activist groups insist again that the evidence was planted, demanding that the PNP release the seven suspects, including the journalist and editor of Manila Today, Lady Ann Salem.
The DOJ launched the three-day summit on human rights as part of a joint program with the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) that calls for greater cooperation between the international community and the Philippines in terms of human rights.
The UNHRC’s decision came on the heels of calls for greater scrutiny of President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on illegal drugs, which have been criticized or allegedly ignoring the rights of suspects.
Last Monday, Duterte assured the international community that the Philippine government remains committed to prioritizing human rights.
Talks about human rights abuses have been rampant since Duterte took office in 2016, as the issue remains a vital point in the criticism of individuals and groups of the administration. He received widespread conviction for allegedly neglecting human rights in his war on drugs and for the incidents of alleged extrajudicial executions.
Duterte, however, has been adamant about the war on drugs, criticizing human rights groups for meddling in the country’s affairs. He once said that he should not be blamed for deaths in the war on drugs, as people who enter the war on drugs are actually committing suicide.
These are the same reasons that the ICHRP still believes the summit supposedly smells of hypocrisy, similar to what some activists in the country claim.
“Honestly, this duality of the state smells of hypocrisy and worse still, it is an insult to the thousands of victims of the Duterte government,” added Murphy.
EDV
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