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DUTERTE, THE NEW FACE OF MARTIAL LAW IN THE PH

ICHRP Secretariat
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DUTERTE, THE NEW FACE OF MARTIAL LAW IN THE PH

September 21, 2021 — “The imposition of martial law under former President Ferdinand Marcos brought about thousands of cases of killings and human rights violations in the Philippines, and decades after, the Duterte Administration’s war on the Filipino people and lack of effective domestic remedies caused more human rights violations than the 14-year Marcos Dictatorship.

And as before, justice is yet to be served.”

This is what Peter Murphy, International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) Global Chairperson, said as the Philippines marks the 49th year of the declaration of martial law in the Philippines.

ICHRP is leading groups and individuals in the international community this Global Day of Action Against Fascism in the Philippines in solidarity with the Filipino people’s struggle against the tyranny of Duterte.

Murphy further elaborated the crimes against humanity Duterte committed throughout the years. In the call for support for the Global Day of Action Against Fascism in the Philippines, he said:

“Under the US-Duterte regime, martial law was declared in Mindanao four years ago leading to an alarming increase in human rights violations. Hundreds of thousands of Moro people were displaced and turned into refugees by the wanton bombing and destruction of Marawi City at the hands of the Philippine Army. Indigenous people’s schools have been shuttered and their communities remain under attack and occupation by the Philippine Army. While peasants in Negros and Panay islands are being arrested and massacred as they defend their right to till and their ancestral domain. In the cities, Duterte has unleashed a war against the poor through his drug war which has now claimed more than 27,000 lives including children. Worse, the country is now one of the most dangerous places in the world for human rights defenders.”

This is also reflected in the findings of the First, Second, and Third Reports of the Independent International Commission of Investigation into Human Rights Violations in the Philippines (Investigate PH).

“We call on Duterte and his cohorts to end the repression now in the Philippines and to take accountability for all the human rights violations they committed against the Filipino people,” Murphy said, as the Philippine Government refuses to cooperate with the formal investigation launched by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

“We challenge him to face the ICC,” he added.

ICHRP also continues to call on governments of the international community to stop supporting the tyranny of Duterte through their military aid to the Philippines. 

“As we commemorate the imposition of martial law in the Philippines and the thousands of its victims who have yet to be served justice, we would like to remind Duterte that the world is watching. He is the new face of dictatorship in the Philippines, and as history taught us, dictators eventually fall.” Murphy said.

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Media Contact:

Peter Murphy – ICHRP Chairperson  +61 418 312 301

chairperson@ichrp.net 

INVITATION: ECUMENICAL DAY OF PRAYER FOR THE PHILIPPINES

ICHRP Secretariat
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INVITATION: ECUMENICAL DAY OF PRAYER FOR THE PHILIPPINES

You are invited to join A Day of Ecumenical Prayer for the Human Rights Situation in the Philippines. The service, which features church leaders from Canada and the Philippines, follows the release of the third report of Investigate PH to the UN Human Rights Council. Investigate PH is an international independent investigation into the human rights situation in the Philippines endorsed by several Canadian churches and KAIROS. 

When: Friday, 24th September and 25th in the Philippines 8:00 PM ET, Canada /Saturday 8:00 AM Philippines

Where: https://www.ICHRPCANADA.ORG/ECUPRAYER

Meeting ID: 992 7975 2563

Password: 842098

We look forward to seeing you there.

ICHRP calls on UNHRC to take decisive action against human rights violations in the Philippines

ICHRP Secretariat
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ICHRP calls on UNHRC to take decisive action against human rights violations in the Philippines
ICHRP Chairperson Peter Murphy addresses the UNHRC in a video oral intervention

In a video oral intervention submitted to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) during its 48th Session, ICHRP Chairperson Peter Murphy called on the UNHRC to take decisive action against human rights violations in the Philippines.

The 48th Session is taking place one year after the UNHRC resolved to provide “technical assistance and capacity building” to the Duterte administration in response to High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet’s report on the human rights situation in June 2020. Murphy welcomed Bachelet’s oral update on the human rights situation, and cited damning evidence provided by three reports of Investigate PH, an independent international human rights investigation.

The full text of the video can be found below:

Madam President,

I welcome the High Commissioner’s oral update on the Philippines. Our Investigate PH project has now presented three reports to the Council which expose the Duterte government for brazen violation of the collective and individual human rights which his government claims to uphold.

The most important of these rights are to self-determination, development, and peace. But the Duterte government has reduced spending on health, education, housing, and welfare. Landlessness is a scourge, unemployment has increased, poverty has widened, inequality has deepened.

The Duterte government has increased spending on the military and police to prosecute internal wars on the poor, on dissenters, and on the Moro people in Mindanao. These wars have killed tens of thousands of Filipino civilians and internally displaced hundreds of thousands more. Women, children, and indigenous people have especially suffered.

When Filipinos protest and assert their rights, their civil and political rights are crushed by deadly force. Far more decisive action is needed by the Human Rights Council, and by the international community as a whole, to uphold the fundamental human rights of the Filipino people, which are universal rights.

SEPT 21, 2021
NEVER AGAIN!: A GLOBAL DAY OF ACTION AGAINST TYRANNY and FASCISM IN THE PHILIPPINES

ICHRP Secretariat
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<b>SEPT 21, 2021 <br> NEVER AGAIN!: A GLOBAL DAY OF ACTION AGAINST TYRANNY and FASCISM IN THE PHILIPPINES</b>

The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines is calling for A Global Day of Action Against Fascism in the Philippines as we mark the 49th year of Ferdinand Marcos’ Martial Law declaration in the Philippines.

On the 21st of September 1972, Proclamation No. 1081 suspended the Constitution and dismantled the Congress as Marcos assumed both legislative and executive powers. The martial rule lasted a 14-year period in Philippine history and is responsible for thousands of cases of killings and human rights violations, for most of which no justice was served. And 49 years later the Filipino people suffer through another nightmare of tyranny and oppression.

Under the US-Duterte regime, martial law was declared in Mindanao four years ago leading to an alarming increase in human rights violations. Hundreds of thousands of Moro people were displaced and turned into refugees by the wanton bombing and destruction of Marawi City at the hands of the Philippine Army. Indigenous people’s schools have been shuttered and their communities remain under attack and occupation by the Philippine Army. While peasants in Negros and Panay islands are being arrested and massacred as they defend their right to till and their ancestral domain. In the cities, Duterte has unleashed a war against the poor through his drug war which has now claimed more than 27,000 lives including children. Worse, the country is now one of the most dangerous places in the world for human rights defenders.

Now, ICHRP is calling all its members across the globe and appeals to other groups and individuals in the international community to join the Global Day of Action Against Fascism in the Philippines.

We appeal for your support, be it in the form of solidarity messages or activities by your organizations. Protest actions in front of the Philippine embassies and all kinds of mass assemblies will send a clear message of solidarity with the Filipino peoples’ struggle against the tyrant Duterte.

Please let us know your response/plans, send them to the Global Secretariat at ichrpglobalsecretariat@gmail.com


In solidarity,

Peter Murphy
Chairperson of the Global Council
International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines
 
Email address: peter_murphy1_au@bigpond.com

Cut off military aid to the Philippines! No support for human rights violators!
Stop the Attacks!
Stop the killings in the Philippines!
No to another dictatorship! Never again to Martial Law!

Support the drug war victims’ call for full investigation of ICC — ICHRP

ICHRP Secretariat
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Support the drug war victims’ call for full investigation of ICC — ICHRP

The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) strongly upholds the drug war victims’ call for the full investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC) into the crimes against humanity of the Duterte administration and his “war on drugs”.

In a report posted online by the ICC Registry, 192 out of 204 representations, or 94%, of the representations on behalf of 1,530 individuals and 1,050 families of victims of Duterte’s drug war want the ICC to investigate the drug war campaign.

“This is a staggering support from the victims’ families. We can no longer ignore the fact that these families want justice for their loved ones,” ICHRP Global Chairperson Peter Murphy said. Out of the 204 representations, only five did not want to proceed with the investigation due to fear of retaliation and did not want to relive their experiences.

“But this doesn’t mean that they don’t want justice,” Murphy added. “We respect their decisions, but at the same time, we still call for justice even for those who do not want to proceed with the investigation.”

The ICC Registry Report noted the following crimes against humanity in the context of the war on drugs: murder (181), attempted murder (8), imprisonment or other severe deprivation of liberty (54), rape and other forms of sexual violence (3), enforced disappearance of persons (28), and torture and other inhumane acts (103).

Most of the representations said that they also wanted the investigation to cover these crimes reported.

One of the main motivations for the representations to the ICC is the desire for a genuine investigation by an impartial international court.  

“Without the ICC, many of the families would choose not to pursue any form of justice. The prospect of an ICC investigation has rekindled their hopes of achieving justice and surfacing the truth,” one of the representations said.

This is in complete contrast to Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque’s claim on August 30 that the victim’s families can instead seek justice under Philippine laws. Furthermore, the palace spokesman even downplayed the report’s findings by saying that the ICC was only being used by staunch critics of the Duterte administration as a political tool.

But the findings of the Independent International Commission of Investigation into Human Rights Violations in the Philippines (Investigate PH) as reflected in their First and Second Reports clearly showed the flaws and failure of domestic remedies.

“ICHRP firmly believes in the impartiality of the ICC,” Murphy said. “We hope that the ICC heeds the call of these families to fully investigate the Duterte administration for these crimes against humanity so that, finally, justice may be served and impunity ended.” Murphy said.

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Reference: Peter Murphy +61 418 312 301

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