July 4, 2024
Press Release

The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) condemns the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) in its recent Wage Order No. NCR-25 providing a P35 (USD 0.60) wage hike for private sector workers in the National Capital Region (NCR) of the Philippines. “The wage hike is not even enough to buy a kilo of rice,” said Peter Murphy, ICHRP Global Council Chairperson.

“The measly wage hike signed by the RTWPB is a grave insult to the hardworking workers who have chronically suffered from low wages amid skyrocketing prices of basic commodities in the country,” added Murphy. “A living wage for workers is a basic human right.”

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) announced that the wage hike will take effect on July 17, or 15 days after the publication of the wage order. This increases the daily minimum wage in the NCR from P610 (USD 10.37) to P645 (USD 10.96) for workers in the non-agriculture sector, and from P573 (USD 9.74) to P608 (USD 10.33) for workers in agriculture, service, and retail businesses employing 15 or fewer workers, and for manufacturing businesses regularly employing less than 10 workers.

“Not only is the P35 wage hike lower than the P40 wage hike previously implemented last year, it is also extremely inadequate in achieving a livable wage. The workers’ petition for a P1,207  minimum wage in the NCR was totally junked. This just proves that President Marcos Jr. is not sincere in uplifting the standard of living and welfare of Filipino workers,” continued Murphy.

“ICHRP supports the call of labor groups for the Philippine government to abolish the Regional Wage Boards and implement a law which will provide a national across-the-board minimum wage increase for all workers in the private sector. It calls on the Marcos Jr. administration to uphold and respect the socio-economic rights of the broad masses of Filipino workers”, concluded Murphy.

Further comment: Peter Murphy, ICHRP Chairperson. WhatsApp: +61 418312301. Email: media@ichrp.net.

Statement
June 28, 2024

Earlier this month, New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Philippines Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo announced that they would enter into a Status of Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) later this year. A VFA between the two countries is an agreement to have closer military ties making it easier for the armed forces of the two countries to work together. 

ICHRP condemns this agreement which is purported to ‘ensure peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific’. It will do the opposite and further heighten tensions between the USA and China in the South China Sea. 

The newly proposed VFA with New Zealand echoes the VFAs that the Philippine Government has previously signed with the USA and Australia, and adds to the increasing number of new military agreements brokered by the Marcos Jr regime. Since the beginning of his term, Marcos Jr has struck updated military agreements with the US, penned memorandums of understanding with Canada and the UK, and is currently in talks to form VFA-like agreements with France, Japan and now New Zealand.

These military agreements further embolden the fascist Philippine military to violate human rights and international humanitarian law against valiant Filipinos who are defending their national sovereignty and longing for genuine democracy, social justice and a just peace. These agreements amplify the increasing US militarization of the Asia-Pacific and do nothing to further peace in the region.

Tensions are high in the South China Sea – West Philippine Sea with both China and the US using the waters around the Philippines as a zone for their ongoing competition for influence in the region.

The US is becoming increasingly provocative in the region and just last month carried out military drills that were clearly orchestrated to goad China. While New Zealand troops did not participate in this exercise they were there as observers and the New Zealand Government has indicated that they may participate in future military drills in the region.

As New Zealand lines up with Australia and the USA, the prospect for peace diminishes and the people of the Philippines find themselves in the dangerous position of being on the front line in the escalating tensions between the two superpowers.

In the interests of peace for the people of the Philippines, ICHRP calls on the government of New Zealand to uphold an independent foreign policy, to junk the VFA and to use its diplomacy and influence to call for a just peace in the Philippines. We further call on people around the globe to rise up in opposition to the growing war mongering of the US and its allies in the Asia- Pacific.

For further information please contact Sheryl Cadman, ICHRP Global Council Member +64 21 776031

Press Release
June 21, 2024

A recent investigation and report by Reuters, released on June 14, 2024, revealed a year-long covert propaganda campaign by the United States military to deter Filipinos from taking the Chinese COVID-19 vaccine Sinovac. The campaign ran from mid-2020 until mid-2021, and involved the creation of hundreds of fake social media profiles in an attempt to sway public opinion on the vaccine.

“The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) condemns in the strongest terms this anti-people campaign of the Pentagon,” said ICHRP Chairperson Peter Murphy in response. “To systematically mislead the people of the Philippines during one of the worst public health crises in the last century is a gross violation of the Filipino people’s collective right to life and peace.”

The Philippines was hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, with the worst virus-related death rate in Southeast Asia by mid-2021: 1.3 million cases and almost 24 thousand deaths. Vaccination rates were also particularly low, with less than 2% of the population vaccinated by mid-2021. The crisis was exacerbated by the militarist response of the Philippine government in implementing checkpoints and lockdowns throughout the country, rather than seriously investing in public health care measures.

“Because US pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer had the monopoly power to refuse supply of COVID-19 vaccines at an affordable price to the Philippines, the first vaccine they could obtain was Sinovac,” Murphy said. “And now we know the US military punished Filipinos for that.”

The fake social media accounts connected to the US propaganda program spread lies about the vaccine in an effort to stir up anti-Chinese sentiment among Filipinos. This strategy goes hand-in-hand with the broader push of the US and its allies to paint China as an enemy, and to justify their increasing military presence in the Philippines and in neighboring countries in Southeast Asia.

While the US increasingly boasts of “ironclad” commitment to the Philippines and feigns friendship with the Filipino people, this psy-op campaign exposes how the US tramples on the rights of the Filipino people for the sake of its geopolitical interests in Asia Pacific. The Reuters report is not only a reminder of the recent IPT’s exposure of the US role in war crimes in the Philippines and the treatment of poor and struggling Filipinos as collateral damage, but also a foreshadowing of how the US will use the Filipino people as cannon fodder in its provocation of war against China. 

“Public health and safety is not something to be toyed with in order to win political influence over a population,” continued Murphy. “The Filipino people have a right to determine their affairs without the meddling of the United States. ICHRP calls on the US military to withdraw from all spheres of influence in the Philippines, including its physical presence in and around the country in its aggressive preparations for war against China.”

In response to the recent guilty verdict of the International People’s Tribunal on war crimes in the Philippines, members of the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) across the world held mobilizations in May and June to draw attention to the verdict. These actions included delivery of the verdict to embassies of the Philippine and United States governments; public protest actions and rallies; educational forums; webinars; and watch sessions of the IPT proceedings. Actions took place in several cities including Brussels, The Hague, Vancouver, Ottawa, Portland, Baltimore, San Francisco, and Washington DC.

This global response demonstrates the growing strength of international solidarity for the Filipino people in their struggle for a just and lasting peace. ICHRP calls upon people inspired by this tribunal to continue to mobilize the broadest solidarity support for the Filipino people against the intensive, US backed counterinsurgency campaign that causes deep suffering and oppression in the Philippines.

Our solidarity is most powerful when we are unified and organized in action. You can build this unity with others by joining a local ICHRP member organization, or forming your own. Reach out to ICHRP at ichrp.net/contact if you aren’t sure how to get involved!