Amnesty International: HR violations still exist in PH

By Pryce E. Quintos and Engelbert S. Nievera

BAGUIO CITY -- Human rights violations still persist in the Philippines, an annual report for 2014/15 by Amnesty International (AI) said.

AI Philippines Campaigner Wilnor Papa presented to local media state of human ights in the Philippines when AI started its annual State of the World’s Human Rights Report launch with its first ever leg here.  

The Philippines is one of 160 countries and territories the human rights organization recorded and investigated for its human rights abuses.

AI provided a comprehensive overview of the country’s human rights through documents recorded and information received in 2014.

 The report said people from poor and marginalized backgrounds fall under the most tortured victims by the police.

The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) reported that it recorded 75 cases of torture in 2013 and 28 cases from January to July 2014. In January, CHR exposed a secret detainment facility in Laguna where police officers use a “roulette wheel” which contains different torture methods.

The Senate then made an inquisition on police torture after AI released a report on Dec. 4 entitled “Above the Law: Police torture in the Philippines”.

The report also pointed out lack of government protection which continues to bother witnesses to the 2009 Maguindanao massacre and their families remained in danger of threats.

With no convictions handed down, no one has been held accountable for theses killings, the report said.

Enforced disappearances as human rights violation were also highlighted in the report.  In August 2014, retired general JovitoPalparan was arrested by National Bureau of Investigation for charges of kidnapping, abduction and “serious illegal detention” of two women university students.

In February, the Supreme Court identified a military officer responsible for the abduction and disappearance of Jonas Burgos.

The report highlighted the Philippine government’s signing of a comprehensive peace agreement with the armed group Moro Islamic Liberation Front in March 2014.

However, attacks by hardline Islamist insurgents who oppose the peace accord continued.

An attack by Abu Sayyaf in Sulu province left 21 people dead in March 2014 and in December, 10 people were killed and more than 30 injured when a mortar bomb exploded on a public bus in Bukidnon province.

 As for violations on freedom of expression, the AI report shows that last year, at least three radio broadcasters and one newspaper reporter were killed by unidentified gunmen.

 Last year’s Supreme Court declaration of major provisions of the 2012 Cybercrime Prevention Act as constitutional is also included as a highlight on the violation of freedom of expression.

 The SC upheld the Reproductive Health Law in April; however, the SC found unconstitutional some eight provisions in the law.

“Unfortunately, the human rights outlook for the coming year will continue to be bleak unless we see a fundamental change to the global response to conflict,” Papa said.

 AIis a global movement which campaigns fair distribution and full protection of human rights and assurance of enjoyed human rights by all people.