BRUSSELS, 18 September — Activist youth group Anakbayan hit back against Duterte spokesperson Harry Roque’s cavalier dismissal of the International Peoples’ Tribunal (IPT) proceedings as “a sham proceeding for propaganda purposes.”

The IPT is a global court convened by lawyers and human rights groups around the world, whose verdict and evidence will be submitted to the International Criminal Court, the European Parliament, and the UN Human Rights Council. The Tribunal will try the Duterte regime of violating the economic, social, civil, and political rights of the Filipino people, which are demandable rights via the Philippines’ ratification of numerous UN conventions on human rights.

“Once again the spoiled brat tyrant Duterte throws a tantrum and quickly dismisses all attempts to hold his administration liable for its human rights abuses against the Filipino people,” said Anakbayan Secretary General Einstein Recedes. “Worse, the coward that he is refuses to even answer these charges in person and hides behind the skirts of his spokesperson Harry Roque.”

Recedes is part of the Philippine delegation to Brussels, Belgium to file cases against President Rodrigo Duterte before the IPT. The IPT has convened twice before and found Ferdinand Marcos and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo guilty of rampant rights abuses.

Anakbayan noted that this is not the first time Duterte attempted to avoid indictment of rampant human rights abuses in the country, revolving around the bloody war on drugs and crackdown against progressive individuals and organizations.

“If we recall, the dictatorial man-child Duterte has already declared its withdrawal from the International Criminal Court (ICC), and has been refusing attempts from UN Rapporteurs to investigate the human rights situation in the country,” he added.

“Duterte shows once again that he is a coward afraid to face the truth and the people´s demands for justice. Duterte fears facing the Tribunal´s distinguished jurors, experts in the field of human rights and international humanitarian law. Instead of defending his human rights record, he chooses to hide,” Recedes furthermore noted.

“Behind all his macho rhetoric and threats, Duterte cowers—a pathetic, paranoid paper tiger unable to face the consequences of his actions. Puro salita, walang gawa, walang paninidigan,” said the youth leader.

For Anakbayan, the testimonies and evidence presented by the witnesses in the Tribunal are very real, as they are the ones who have experienced the Duterte regime’s violence first-hand.

“Where do correct ideas come from?” asked Recedes. “Unlike Duterte’s reports that are sanitized by his lackeys in government, the testimonies of the witnesses are nothing but unadulterated truth, straight from the victims of Duterte’s bloodlust and paranoia.”

“We will not tire of holding Duterte accountable for his regime’s crimes against the Filipino people, in whatever court or tribunal. Once again we call on Duterte to show bravery for once in his life instead of simple posturing—come out, stand up, and face the people of the world!” ended Recedes.

[The Philippines is a State-Party to the following international HR conventions and treaties: International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR); International Convenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICPR); and UN Convention Against Torture (UNCAT)]

Reference:
Einstein Recedes
enteng.itneg@gmail.com
+639997656345

In her expert testimony at the opening of the International People’s Tribunal (IPT) 2018 in Brussels, Belgium, Karapatan Secretary General Cristina Palabay called on the jurors of the global court to deliver a guilty verdict on the gross and blatant violations on the Filipino people’s civil and political rights of Philippine Pres. Rodrigo Duterte and US President Donald Trump.

Palabay cited the “overwhelming evidence that points to the culpability of Duterte,” as shown in the twelve emblematic cases of civil and political rights violations presented and submitted in the Tribunal.

Among these are: cases of extrajudicial killings in line with Duterte’s anti-narcotics campaign and counterinsurgency program; killings and massacre of human rights defenders; illegal arrest, detention and trumped up charges against political dissenters and activists; torture; political persecution of rights defenders, including non-Filipino activists, and critics of the drug killings such as detained Sen. Leila de Lima; attacks on lawyers and churchpeople; forcible evacuation, bombings and other rights violations in Marawi and the declaration of martial law in Mindanao; and attacks on media people and press freedom including the killing of journalists, the harassment and arrest of journalists.

“Mass murder, gross violations on the right to due process, unabated killings, attacks, terrorist-tagging and criminalisation of human rights defenders and political dissenters, muzzling of the right to free expression, impunity to the hilt, general situation of unpeace, the utter contempt for human rights – all these put together describe the catastrophic impact of a Rodrigo Roa Duterte presidency on the civil and political rights of the Filipino people,” Palabay said, in her testimony.

Jimmylisa Badayos, daughter of slain human rights worker Elisa Badayos, tearfully recounted her family’s ordeal, from her father’s forced disappearance during the Corazon Aquino administration, her illegal arrest and detention of her husband, to the killing of her mother on November 28, 2018.

“Without a doubt, I am holding President Duterte accountable for my mother’s death, as he is responsible for the implementation of Oplan Kapayapaan, a counterinsurgency program that has targeted activists or those wrongly tagged as “terrorist” or “rebels,” Badayos, who is also currently a National Council member of Karapatan, said.

Karapatan also underscored the role of the US government, through Trump, in supporting and directing Oplan Kapayapaan that has engendered rights violations in the Philippines.

“This campaign is fueled by military financing from the US government, which amounted to at least $175M in the last two years, on top of the continuous military trainings and numerous deals of the US and its allied governments like the UK, Canada and Israel regarding armaments, drones, surveillance and other war materiel with the Philippine government. Their common thrust is to maintain US’s hegemonic presence not only in the country but in the Asia Pacific region,” Palabay said.

The IPT2018 is a global court being convened by the International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL), European Association of Lawyers for Democracy and World Human Rights (ELDH), Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers, IBON International, and the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP). Its team of Jurors are all experts and eminent individuals from different disciplines with proven competence, integrity, probity and objectivity, and experienced on issues on human rights, rights of peoples, and international humanitarian law. The Tribunal is being convened until September 19, 2018.

Reference:
Cristina Palabay
Secretary General
0917-3162831

Karapatan Public Information Desk
0918-9790580

———————————————————————
PUBLIC INFORMATION DESK
publicinfo@karapatan.org
———————————————————————
Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights
2nd Flr. Erythrina Bldg., #1 Maaralin corner Matatag Sts., Central District
Diliman, Quezon City, PHILIPPINES 1101
Telefax: (+63 2) 4354146
Web: http://www.karapatan.org

KARAPATAN is an alliance of human rights organizations and programs, human rights desks and committees of people’s organizations, and individual advocates committed to the defense and promotion of people’s rights and civil liberties. It monitors and documents cases of human rights violations, assists and defends victims and conducts education, training and campaign.

Daughters of peace consultants Rafael Baylosis and Ferdinand Castillo will testify before the
International Peoples’ Tribunal charging Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte with rights
violations against the Filipino people, to be held September 18-19 in Brussels, Belgium.

Eleanor de Guzman and Belle Castillo, daughters of Baylosis and Castillo, respectively, will testify
on the arbitrary arrest and detention of their fathers and other political prisoners in the Philippines, in the charge of violation of civil and political rights.

Baylosis served as consultant of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines in the peace
negotiations with the Government of the Republic of the Philippines. He was involved in the whole process of formulating the NDFP’s Proposal for the Agreement on Socio-Economic Reforms, which was still under negotiations when Duterte botched the peace process.

De Guzman will also raise the case of her husband Maoj Maga, and other activists who were arrested
following Duterte’s declaration of a crackdown against activists. She puts to task the Inter Agency
Committee on Legal Action for manufacturing criminal charges against activists.

“My father is a peace consultant, my husband is a trade union organizer, and they have dedicated
their lives in the service of the Filipino masses. They just want meaningful changes for our country. They are not criminals. Activists are not criminals,” De Guzman said.

There are 509 political prisoners in the Philippines, including 47 women and 118 sickly, who face
common criminal charges.

Belle Castillo laments the detention of his father who suffers from heart disease and other illnesses.
“We long for the freedom of our loved ones. Charges against political prisoners should be dropped,
and they should all be released on just grounds,” Castillo said.

De Guzman and Castillo maintain that the arrest and detention of their fathers violate the Joint
Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) which covers peace consultants, the
Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law
(CARHRIHL) and the Hernandez Doctrine on political offense.

Find out more about the Tribunal

Follow the proceedings of the Tribunal

References:
Eleanor de Guzman
lenrdg2009@gmail.com

Belle Castillo
sierraisabelle@gmail.com

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM — Philippine women’s alliance GABRIELA has filed charges against Philippine President Rodrigo Roa Duterte for serious and systematic violation of women’s rights and his numerous crimes against the Filipino people at the International Peoples’ Tribunal (IPT) 2018 to be convened in Brussels, Belgium on September 18 to 19.

GABRIELA Secretary General Joms Salvador is testifying at the IPT 2018 on Duterte’s misogyny and discrimination against women as grave violations of the economic, social and cultural rights of women by a Head of State and on the Philippine government’s violations of its duties and obligations to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women and to respect, protect and fulfill women’s human rights under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) to which the Philippines is a state party, the Magna Carta of Women (Republic Act No. 9710), and the Women Development Code of Davao.

According to Salvador, “President Duterte’s public statements promote rather than discourage or prevent discrimination against women; they are offensive to women; they are tantamount to verbally abusing women; they harass women; they degrade women; they harm and endanger the lives of women.” “Misogyny thus is no longer seen as a simple case of one’s personal dislike of, contempt for, or ingrained prejudice against women. Rather it must be seen as a violation of particular laws that protect women – a crime that, like any other, must be punished,” Salvador added.

A total of 21 cases or incidents of the Philippine government’s gross and systematic violations of the people’s civil and political rights, violations of economic, social and cultural rights, and violations of the rights to national self-determination and development and violations of international humanitarian law will be brought before the IPT 2018 by civil society representatives, human rights defenders, trade unionists, indigenous people, and family members of victims of extrajudicial killings and of political prisoners.

The IPT2018 is a global peoples’ court convened by the International Association of Democratic Lawyers, European Association of Lawyers for Democracy and World Human Rights, Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers, IBON International, and the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines.

The IPT 2018 as a global people’s court draws its legitimacy from the people as the primordial source of authority and power of all courts, both international and local. The IPT 2018 is composed of an international jury who are leading public figures of recognized achievements and high moral stature. They will come up with a verdict based on a thorough and fair assessment of evidences, and in line with applicable international legal standards.

The verdict of the IPT will be submitted to the International Criminal Court (ICC), the European Parliament, and the United Nations Human Rights Council as a case against the US-Duterte regime.

Find out more about the Tribunal

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Reference:
Joms Salvador
Secretary General
GABRIELA Philippines
+63 918 918 2150

Kilusang Mayo Uno

National labor center Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) joins other marginalized and oppressed sectors this week at the International Peoples’ Tribunal (IPT) 2018 in Brussels, Belgium, charging President Rodrigo Duterte with gross, systematic labor rights violations and other crimes against Filipino workers and the Filipino people.

KMU’s delegates to the tribunal, set to be conducted on September 18-19, include representatives from the banana plantation workers of Sumifru, based in Compostela Valley; contractual workers of condiment giant NutriAsia, based in Bulacan; and drivers and operators of national transport group PISTON.

“Over the past two years, Duterte has actively worsened the plight of Filipino workers. He must be held accountable for his crimes,” said Lito Ustarez, KMU Vice-Chairperson for Political and External Affairs.

The Philippines was tagged by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) in its 2018 report as among the “worst countries in the world for workers,” based on deteriorating conditions of labor in the country.

“Under this regime, workers who protest these unjust and inhumane conditions have been killed, arrested, and brutally dispersed for daring to fight for their rights and welfare,” said Ustarez.

Violations of political, economic, and human rights

“The Duterte regime has blatantly opposed and suppressed long-established labor rights, such as the right to strike, right to organize, right to regular jobs, and right to livable wages,” said Ustarez.

The IPT will hear the case of NutriAsia workers, who are among the many victims — including Jollibee, Middleby, Magnolia, and PLDT workers — of Duterte’s anti-labor policies, especially recent toothless laws such as DO 174 and E0 51 that legitimized contractualization instead of ending it.

Last June, NutriAsia terminated over 50 contractual workers instead of regularizing them as ordered by DOLE. Dozens of people were severely injured and arrested during multiple attempts by state forces to disperse the NutriAsia strike.

Sumifru workers will also relate the union-busting tactics used against them in Mindanao, where Martial Law has yet to be lifted. The 66th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army (IBPA) was charged in an April 2018 fact-finding mission with using red-tagging, coercion, forced displacement, harassment, intimidation, illegal entry into dwellings, and planting of fake evidence in order to discourage union activities.

“Duterte is notorious for his fascist and violent tactics against his critics,” said Ustarez. “To silence labor leaders and organizers, the Duterte regime resorts to extrajudicial killings and illegal detention based on trumped-up charges.”

Thirty labor leaders have been killed under Duterte. Meanwhile, the list of the regime’s political prisoners includes Rafael Baylosis, former KMU vice-chairperson for external and political affairs (arrested February 2018); Maojo Maga, KMU and PISTON organizer (arrested February 2018); and Alexander “Bob” Reyes, organizer of KMU-National Capital Region (arrested April 2018).

The Sumifru delegate to the IPT is also set to testify regarding an assassination attempt this August on Vincent Ageas, a member of the Board of Directors of Sumifru’s union Nagkahiusang Mamumuo sa Suyapa Farm (NAMASUFA).

Moreover, “Duterte, in collaboration with the Trump-led US government, has enacted harmful, anti-people economic policies and programs that have affected all Filipinos, especially workers,” said Ustarez.

The gap between wage rates and the cost of living has rapidly widened, as inflation hits record highs due to neoliberal policies such as the controversial Tax Reform Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law. Yet Duterte continues to ignore growing calls to junk TRAIN and institute a livable national minimum wage.

Workers of the transport sector have also been hit hard by Duterte’s planned jeepney phaseout, touted as a “modernization program” that would supposedly benefit the Philippine economy.

The PISTON delegate will testify how the phaseout would result in a massive loss of livelihood for jeepney drivers, as well as corporatization of public transport and higher fares for commuters. PISTON has been a staunch critic of the phaseout, instead proposing alternative, sustainable modernization policies that would prioritize the welfare of transport workers and commuters.

KMU urged all workers and other Filipinos to join them in holding Duterte accountable for his crimes.

“We can no longer ignore the overwhelming evidence showing the atrocities of the Duterte regime. Stop the attacks on trade union and human rights! We call on the public to support our struggle to defend and uphold the rights and welfare of all workers and the rest of the Filipino people,” Ustarez said.

Find out more about the Tribunal

Follow the proceedings of the Tribunal

Reference:

Lito Ustarez
Kilusang Mayo Uno
Vice-Chairperson for Political and External Affairs
09086491992

—
Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU)
Genuine, Militant, and Anti-imperialist Unionism
63 Narra Street, Project 3, Quezon City, 1102
Philippines
Website: www.kilusangmayouno.org
Email: kmu.intl@gmail.com