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ICHRP Marks 5th Anniversary of the Interment of Dictator Ferdinand Marcos in the National Hero’s Cemetery

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ICHRP Marks 5th Anniversary of the Interment of Dictator Ferdinand Marcos in the National Hero’s Cemetery

November 18, 2021

Today marks the 5th Anniversary of the re-burial of Dictator Ferdinand E Marcos remains in the National Hero’s Cemetery. The controversial reburial approved by Rodrigo Duterte is an affront to Marcos’ victims, an affront to human rights, and an affront to the Filipino people who suffered through 14 years of dictatorial rule. Marcos remains a specter on the political landscape, and his crimes and those of his family continue to reverberate through the nation decades after his 1989 death.

Marcos used the national treasury as a personal bank account, looting an estimated US$10 billion from the Filipino people in what was the crime of the century. The political careers of his wife and children are built on this stolen wealth. The Panama Papers have shown that the family continue to hold vast sums of plundered wealth in offshore accounts. The fruits of this plunder now support the presidential aspirations of Marcos’ son Bongbong. The entire family should be locked up by the Sandigbayan for their theft from the Philippines treasury.

The Marcos dictatorship sentenced the Filipino people to a life of servitude and exile through its labour export policy. Rather than develop jobs and economic growth in the Philippines, Marcos maintained the semi-feudal, semi-colonial economy and devised a strategy for the mass export and exploitation of millions of its people. Today more than 10 million Filipinos work overseas and prior to the COVID pandemic people were departing at a rate of nearly 6,000 per day for low-wage, low-skilled jobs abroad, often forced to work in slave-like conditions.

Marcos was a serial human rights violator. His regime tortured tens of thousands, there were 3,257 known extrajudicial killings, and 70,000 incarcerations of political opponents. Some 2,520 of the 3,257 murder victims were tortured and mutilated before their bodies were dumped in various places for the public to discover – a tactic meant to sow fear among the people, which came to be known as “salvaging”. This is not the record of someone who should be considered a hero, these are crimes against humanity and his regime should be condemned in perpetuity.

To maintain his reign of terror Marcos built up an extensive network of security forces, police, paramilitary and military. Under the US-Marcos dictatorship, there was a significant expansion of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, which grew from a force of 57,100 in 1971 to a 97.89 percent increase of 113,000 personnel in 1976. The Marcos regime at the same time corrupted and politicized the military giving them an ever-expanding independent role in civilian affairs which served US imperialism, making it impossible for elected officials to govern without the support of the AFP and Washington. This is evident today in the fact that in the Duterte’s de facto dictatorship nearly every strategic government department is led by an ex-military or police official, there is no longer any guise of civilian control.

In whitewashing Marcos’ crimes, Duterte is looking to his own future, hoping his extensive human rights crimes, currently under investigation by the International Criminal Court and extensively documented by Investigate PH and the UN Human Rights Council, will fade with time.

The 5th Anniversary of the Marcos reburial reminds us that designating the dictator as a national hero is an affront to democracy, an affront to the 100,000 plus victims of the regime and to the millions of Filipino people who continue to suffer under his labour export regime. Clearly Duterte, having failed to learn the lesson of this history, was doomed to repeat it.

ICHRP calls for

  • the Philippine government to continue the case against the Marcos family and to recover all the plundered wealth plus interest.
  • the Philippine government to provide full restitution of recovered wealth to the victims of the Marcos dictatorship.
  • the incarceration of convicted plunderer Imelda Marcos.
  • reburial of the Dictator Marcos in an unmarked grave.

For comment: Peter Murphy, Chairperson, ICHRP Global Council +61 418 312 301 chairperson@ichrp.net

U.S. Congress Rep. Susan Wild holds press conference calling for the passage of the Philippine Human Rights Act

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U.S. Congress Rep. Susan Wild holds press conference calling for the passage of the Philippine Human Rights Act

Washington DC – On Tuesday, October 19, in the midst of Filipino-American History Month, Representative Susan Wild (D) of the 7th District of Pennsylvania, hosted a press conference for the Philippine Human Rights Act (PHRA). Along with members of the Filipino community and supporters of the Filipino people in the United States, Rep. Wild urged the passage of the PHRA and condemned the brutal administration of the outgoing Philippine President, Rodrigo Duterte.

Yves Nibungco, national chairperson of Malaya Movement USA, started the proceedings by highlighting the more than 200 organizations and institutions that endorsed the PHRA and the numerous vigils held by the Filipino community all across the United States on October 18 to call for the passage of the PHRA.

After being introduced by Nibungco, Rep. Wild, the sponsor of the Philippine Human Rights Act, emphasized the need for a “fundamentally different relationship between the United States and the Philippines, founded on a simple proposition: U.S. taxpayer funds should not be used to supply weapons to a regime that violently targets its political opponents.” She called attention to the recent $2 Billion in weapons that was sold to the Philippines by the United States and how she objected to it because “no amount of defense contracts will ever match the value of a human life.” 

The Philippine Human Rights Act intends to “suspend the provision of security assistance to the Philippines until the Government of the Philippines has made certain reforms to the military and police forces.” Included in the PHRA’s provisions are the suspension of security assistance from the United States to the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police, two institutions that have been accused of the gravest human rights abuses.

Jim Winkler, President and General Secretary of the National Council of Churches, expressed solidarity with the Filipino people and stressed that victory in the name of democracy can only be won if we fight for democracy everywhere saying that “The success and durability of our own democracy depends not only on facing down the mob and the forces that attempt to destroy our government here, but on stopping those same forces everywhere. That is why we want to see the passage of the Philippine Human Rights Act.”

Winkler was followed by Elena Lopez, a legislative associate from the Communications Workers of America. “We, as part of the global labor movement, cannot stand idly by while Duterte kills activists one by one. We must condemn it, and do every single thing within our power to stop it… All of us, especially those of us in the labor movement, cannot fight for our own dignity and rights here without standing with our brothers and sisters abroad. An injury to one, is an injury to all,” said Lopez.

Mikaela Tajo, the Advocacy Director of George Washington University’s Philippine Cultural Society, ended the press conference by drawing attention to the Filipino youth’s long history of resistance and the need to continue that legacy.  “We see the human rights abuses currently going on in the Philippines. We’ve seen indigenous Lumad youth being denied education, we’ve seen them flee their ancestral lands because of militarization.  We’ve seen the senseless deaths of young people like Kian Delos Santos, young people like us–killed in this so-called drug war, really a war on the poor!  This is why [Philippine Cultural Society] decided to endorse the Philippine Human Rights Act.”

Currently, the Philippine Human Rights Act has been introduced in the 117th Congress with 22 co-sponsors.  There is a growing clamor for more legislators to sponsor the bill including one Republican and an introduction of the companion senate bill in light of the intensifying repression against activists and human rights defenders in the Philippines.

As it stands, the Duterte Regime has been the perpetrator of some of the worst human rights abuses in Philippine history. With the possibility of another Duterte loyalist ascending to the Philippine Presidency in the upcoming Philippine elections in 2022, the passage of the Philippine Human Rights Act is a life and death matter to many human rights defenders in the frontlines of the battle for democracy in the Philippines.

For more information on the Philippine Human Rights Act, please visit humanrightsph.org.

Press Release: UN maintains pressure on Philippine human rights, ICHRP calls for an official UN investigation

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Press Release: UN maintains pressure on Philippine human rights, ICHRP calls for an official UN investigation

October 7, 2021 – UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. Michelle Bachelet, presented her oral report on the Philippines to the UNHRC today, one year after the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) passed a resolution to provide “technical cooperation and capacity-building” to the Government of the Republic of the Philippines for the protection of human rights.

Ms. Bachelet noted the progress of the UN Joint Program for technical assistance and capacity-building on human rights, adopted only on July 22 this year. She also noted the ongoing lack of accountability for the killings and rights violations in the counterinsurgency program; continuing harassment, threats and killings of human rights defenders, church workers, environmental and land rights defenders, journalists, trade unionists, farmers and lawyers. She singled out the killing of 9 indigenous Tumandok leaders on Panay on December 30, 2020, and the killing of 9 community leaders during the Bloody Sunday operation on March 7, 2021. She maintained her criticism of the government’s red-tagging against activists, media and other actors, and called for an end to the hate language during the unfolding national election campaign. 

The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) fully endorses High Commissioner Bachelet’s comment that the decision of the International Criminal Court Pre-Trial Chamber to open an investigation in the Philippines is a significant indication of the inadequate, if not non-existent, domestic remedies in the country. 

The formal response of the Philippine Delegate demonstrated that the Duterte government continues to reject any criticism of its human rights record, doubling down on its use of red-tagging to terrorise any critics by alleging without evidence that they recruit fighters for the New People’s Army.

The Duterte government continues to use the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), created at the end of 2018, as the government framework to repress civilian dissent.  Human rights violations will continue unless the NTF-ELCAC is declared unconstitutional and dissolved. According to ICHRP Chairperson Peter Murphy “the Duterte government’s claims to uphold human rights and respect the UN Human Rights Council is shamelessly hypocritical”.

High Commissioner Bachelet detailed some of the many human rights violations which have taken place since last October. INVESTIGATE PH, an independent international civil society initiative, reported extensive violations of economic, social, and cultural rights of the Filipino people, as well as violations of the rights to development, self-determination, and peace. The Duterte administration’s war on dissent is now using mechanisms and tactics which were previously used in the notorious war on poor people to target alleged drug users (such as tokhang-style killings by police) to maintain its state terror to control the people. 

High Commissioner Bachelet’s report clearly demonstrated the lack of domestic mechanisms in the Philippines to end such human rights violations. In the wake of the worsening human rights situation, ICHRP reiterates the recommendations of INVESTIGATE PH, including the authorization of an official UN investigation of human rights violations in the Philippines. ICHRP also calls on the UNHRC to maintain its efforts to hold the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and its officials accountable for the thousands of violations of human rights carried out as official state policies.

For comment: Peter Murphy, Chairperson, ICHRP Global Council +61 418 312 301 chairperson@ichrp.net 

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Roundtable Discussion: An International Response to Human Rights in the Philippines

ICHRP Secretariat
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Roundtable Discussion: An International Response to Human Rights in the Philippines

Join ICHRP for a roundtable discussion on human rights in the Philippines.

Date: Friday October 8, 2021
Time: 2pm Geneva / 8am New York / 8pm Manila
Register here: https://www.tinyurl.com/ICHRPRoundtable

This discussion will follow UN Human Rights Commissioner, Michelle Bachelet’s, update on the Philippines at the UNHRC. We will hear commentary on the presentation to the UN and the findings of Investigate PH, and consider their future significance in the context of the alarming human rights situation in the Philippines.

Organizer: International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines
Co-Sponsors:
IBON International
The General Board of Church and Society of The United Methodist Church
United Church of Canada
National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers
Karapatan
International Association of Democratic Lawyers
Education International

STILSTAAN BIJ DE MENSENRECHTEN IN DE FILIPPIJNEN EN PALESTINA

ICHRP Secretariat
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STILSTAAN BIJ DE MENSENRECHTEN IN DE FILIPPIJNEN EN PALESTINA

ALKMAAR – Tijdens de nationale Vredesweek organiseert Earth Caravan in samenwerking met de Nederlands-Filippijnse Solidariteitsbeweging op vrijdagavond 24 september 19:30-21:30 een informatiebijeenkomst in Alkmaar over de Filippijnen en Palestina.

We sluiten ons graag aan bij de duizenden mensen in heel Nederland die actie voeren voor de vrede om van de wereld een mooiere plek te maken. Voor deze avond nodigen wij u van harte uit! Onder het genot van lekkernijen uit de Filippijnen en Palestina maakt u kennis met de mensenrechtensituatie in die landen.

De avond begint met een presentatie door Theo Droog over de Filippijnen. Ondanks dat de Filippijnen rijk zijn aan delfstoffen, en er grote oppervlakten in gebruik zijn voor exportgewassen, leeft de overgrote meerderheid in armoede. Daar bovenop is er een mensenrechten crisis gaande. Niet alleen de alom bekende oorlog tegen drugs, maar ook tegen kwetsbare groepen. Zo is er repressie van de inheemse bevolking bij de bescherming van hun voorouderlijk leefgebied, de bossen, natuurlijke hulpbronnen en de biodiversiteit. Vanuit de Verenigde Naties wordt gesproken van categorisch ernstige schendingen van de mensenrechten in de Filippijnen. Uit internationale aandacht putten nabestaanden van de slachtoffers een glimp van hoop en kracht om te werken aan gerechtigheid en duurzame vrede.

Na de pauze verzorgt Miwa Tamamoto een presentatie over Palestina.

Het lijkt voor velen dat de Israël-Palestina kwestie een probleem van religie is. Dat is niet waar. En nog minder waar is dat er een gelijkwaardig ‘conflict’ tussen de twee partijen is. De realiteit is een bezetting van Palestina door Israël. In strijd met het internationaal recht (inclusief bezetting wetten) worden Palestijnen continu geterroriseerd door het Israëlische leger, kolonisten en politie: lastiggevallen, hun toegang tot land voor begrazing en landbouw geblokkeerd, huizen gesloopt…. Dit alles om hen van hun land weg te jagen. In een korte documentaire zie je een deel van de totaal onrechtvaardige situatie, gedocumenteerd door Guy Hircefeld. Hij is een Israeli maar zet alles in voor de strijd voor de mensenrechten van Palestijnse herders en boeren in de Jordaan vallei. Na de film is een zoom-meeting gepland met een Earth Caravan lid in Tel Aviv die met hem samenwerkt.

Na de presentaties is er volop gelegenheid om vragen te stellen en met elkaar in gesprek te gaan over wat we met elkaar kunnen doen voor de verbetering van de situatie.

Iedereen is van harte welkom! (geen screening, wel volgens de maatregelen) Gezien het beperkt aantal bezoekers wegens corona is het noodzakelijk dat u zich aanmeldt. Vooraf aanmelden door een mail te sturen naar tao.sangha.nl@gmail.com

Toegang: vrijwillige bijdrage.
Datum: 24 september 2021
Tijd: 19:30 – 21:30, inloop vanaf 19:15
Plaats: Wijkcentrum De Rekere (zaal 512) bij Izumi Shiatsu en Earth Caravan Nederland, Drechterwaard 16, 1824EX Alkmaar
Voor informatie: Miwa Tamamoto 06-44804369

https://www.alkmaarsdagblad.nl/regio/stilstaan-bij-de-mensenrechten-in-de-filippijnen-en-palestina

English Translation

THINKING ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE PHILIPPINES AND PALESTINE

ALKMAAR – During the national Peace Week, Earth Caravan is organizing an information meeting in Alkmaar about the Philippines and Palestine on Friday evening 24 September 19:30-21:30 in collaboration with the Dutch-Filipino Solidarity Movement.

We would like to join the thousands of people throughout the Netherlands who are campaigning for peace to make the world a more beautiful place. We cordially invite you to this evening! While enjoying delicacies from the Philippines and Palestine, you will become acquainted with the human rights situation in those countries.

The evening starts with a presentation by Theo Droog about the Philippines. Despite the fact that the Philippines is rich in minerals and large areas are used for export crops, the vast majority live in poverty. On top of that, there is a human rights crisis going on. Not only the well-known war on drugs, but also against vulnerable groups. For example, there is repression of the indigenous population in the protection of their ancestral habitat, forests, natural resources and biodiversity. The United Nations speaks of categorically serious violations of human rights in the Philippines. From international attention, relatives of the victims draw a glimpse of hope and strength to work for justice and lasting peace.

After the break, Miwa Tamamoto will give a presentation about Palestine.

It seems to many that the Israel-Palestine issue is a problem of religion. That is not true. Even less true is that there is an equal “conflict” between the two sides. The reality is an occupation of Palestine by Israel. Contrary to international law (including occupation laws), Palestinians are continuously terrorized by the Israeli army, settlers and police: harassed, their access to land for grazing and agriculture blocked, houses demolished…. All this to drive them away from their land. to hunt. In a short documentary you see part of the totally unjust situation, documented by Guy Hircefeld. He is an Israeli but is committed to fighting for the human rights of Palestinian shepherds and farmers in the Jordan Valley.

After the presentations there is plenty of opportunity to ask questions and to discuss what we can do together to improve the situation.

Everybody is welcome! (no screening, but according to the measures) Given the limited number of visitors due to corona, it is necessary that you register. Register in advance by sending an email to tao.sangha.nl@gmail.com

Admission: voluntary contribution.
Date: September 24, 2021
Time: 19:30 – 21:30, walk-in from 19:15
Place : Wijkcentrum De Rekere (room 512) at Izumi Shiatsu and Earth Caravan Netherlands, Drechtwaard 16, 1824EX Alkmaar
For information: Miwa Tamamoto 06-44804369

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