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Drug war killings, police impunity remain top concerns in PHL – US State Department


Alleged extrajudicial killings and increase in police impunity in connection with President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs remain the most significant human rights concerns in the Philippines, according to a US State Department report.

While the 2017 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices tried to present a mixed picture of some positive efforts by the government and concerns in the Philippines, it reported numerous dismal conditions that allowed rights violations to continue under Duterte.

“Extrajudicial killings have been the chief human rights concern in the country for many years and, after a sharp rise with the onset of the anti-drug campaign in 2016, they continued in 2017,” the report released in Washington on Friday (Saturday in Manila) said.

“The government investigated a limited number of reported human rights abuses, including abuses by its own forces, paramilitaries, and insurgent and terrorist groups. Concerns about police impunity increased significantly following the sharp increase in police killings,” it added.

The report is the latest expression of alarm by the US government against Duterte’s deadly war on drugs and other related issues despite his better relations with President Donald Trump. Former President Barack Obama initially raised concerns over the anti-drug campaign and alleged extrajudicial killings, angering the President Rodrigo Duterte, who lashed out at the then-American leader and telling him to “go to hell.”

Washington tried to strike a balance by acknowledging in the report President Duterte’s remarks that actions taken outside the rule of law will be investigated even as he publicly rejected criticism of police killings.

Although police claimed to have begun investigations of all reports of extrajudicial killings, no criminal complaints have been filed by against police officers accused of unlawful killings, reflecting the need for the government to step up efforts to bring perpetrators of killings and other abuses to justice.

From January to the end of September 2017, media has reported more than 900 fatalities in police operations suspected to be connected with the violent illegal drugs crackdown.

Police said 1,889 cases have been resolved as of August, but 4,373 remained under investigation, the State Department lamented.

While civilian control over the Philippine National Police (PNP) improved, the State Department said it “was not fully effective.” The government confirmed a civilian head of the Internal Affairs Service in December 2016, after an eight-year hiatus.

Other “most significant” human rights issues included: killings by vigilantes and others allegedly connected to the government, and by insurgents; torture and abuse of prisoners and detainees by security forces; often harsh and life threatening prison conditions; warrantless arrests by security forces and cases of apparent government disregard for legal rights and due process; political prisoners; killings of and threats against journalists; official corruption and abuse of power; threats of violence against human rights activists; violence against women; and forced labor.

It also noted Duterte’s tendency to single out reporters who ask tough questions, saying it has “a chilling effect on their willingness to engage, in large part because of a feared loss of access.”

Many journalists, the report said, also cited an increase in online threats, including threats of violence and harassment, in response to online articles critical of the government.

The report also cited public criticisms and disparaging remarks by Duterte and his allies in government against the Philippine Commission on Human Rights, including its chairman.

“After his State of the Nation address, President Duterte threatened to abolish the CHR. This, however, would require amending the Constitution. In August, the House of Representatives voted to cut the CHR’s budget to 1,000 pesos ($20) from 650 million pesos ($13 million). The Senate version, however, set CHR’s budget at 650 million pesos,” it said.

Local human rights activists continued to encounter occasional harassment, mainly from security forces or local officials from areas in which incidents of killings under investigation occurred, the report said.

The State Department also cited Duterte’s frequent criticism of the United Nations, international human rights groups critical of his anti-drug campaign and UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions Agnes Callamard, who sought a visit to investigate the killings.

The report also noted that Moro separatist and communist insurgencies continued to result in the displacement of civilians and the killing of soldiers and police in armed clashes.

Terrorist organizations, on the other hand, continued to engage in kidnappings for ransom, bombings of civilian targets, beheadings, and the use of child soldiers in combat or auxiliary roles, and the organizations operated shadow governments in areas they controlled.

The State Department is mandated by US Congress each year to provide a detailed report on the status of human rights in more than 100 countries to help the US government assess its policy and foreign assistance. — RSJ, GMA News

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