Rappler.com-Sept 1
ACT Teachers Representative France Castro, a member of the progressive Makabayan bloc, said the Philippines is “shameful” because of its human rights violations despite the accomplishments of the judiciary. “Pero nakakahiya tayo, ‘no? Kahit na sinasabi nating marami tayong accomplishments sa mga cases, pero itong mga human rights violations ay second and sixth tayo doon sa survey. Pero it doesn’t speak well of our judiciary kung gano’n,” Castro said during the House hearing on the judiciary’s budget Thursday, September 1. (But we are shameful, right? Even if we say we have a lot of accomplishments in these cases, but on human rights violations, we are second and sixth on the survey. It doesn’t speak well of our judicial system if that’s the case.) Castro was referring to the human rights report of Front Line Defenders, which ranks countries based on the killings of human rights defenders. In 2015, the country was second highest with 31 killings, and at sixth place in 2021 with 16 killings. The Makabayan lawmaker gave the comment after she asked about the status of drug war killings and killings of journalists. From 1986 to June 2022, there have been 195 journalists killed in the Philippines, according to the National Union of Journalists in the Philippines. Under RealNumberPH, the government’s unitary report on the drug war, there are at least 6,252 people who have died at the hands of the police during anti-illegal drug operations between July 2016 and May 31, 2022. However, human rights groups estimate the total death toll to have reached 30,000 to include victims of vigilante-style killings. Read more at:
