Duterte admin miserably failed in upholding human rights –TFDP

Rights group Task Force Detainees of the Philippines presented on Wednesday its mid-term human rights assessment of the Rodrigo Duterte administration, two days  ahead of the 47th anniversary of Ferdinand Marcos' Martial Law.

“We are living in dangerous times again and many seem not to bother nor care that the whimsical and capricious display of vindictiveness of Duterte is eating the nation's soul and trampling on people's rights,” Fr. Christian Buenafe, O.Carm, chairperson of TFDP, said at a press conference in Quezon City.

Photos by TFDP

TFDP’s midterm human rights assessment shows that under Duterte, "the Philippines is failing to strengthen its democratic traditions. It is regressing in the promotion, protection and fulfillment of human rights. Its elected leaders are shamelessly transgressing the rule of law, and tilting the balance of power to favor the executive branch," Buenafe added.

Likewise, he said, "Democratic institutions are under attack and those who try to protect and strengthen them are targeted, vilified, and demonized --a clear sign that an atmosphere of suppression of human rights exists in the country.”

TFDP together with members of the Association of Major Religious Superiors in the Philippines (AMRSP), Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA) and In Defense of Human Rights and Dignity Movement (iDEFEND) are part of the Philippine CSOs delegation in the ongoing 42nd session of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva, Switzerland.

Undersecretary Severo Catura of the Presidential Human Rights Committee Secretariat referred to these human rights defenders as pathological liars and purveyors of fake information on alleged human rights violations in the country during these UNHRC sessions.

An article posted dated 14 September 2019 on government news site, Usec. Catura was quoted as saying, “Sadly they are Filipinos who represent a minuscule group of opposition back home, but unfortunately the loudest, whose main objective has always been to humiliate and embarrass our country before the world.”

In reaction, Nilda Lagman-Sevilla, Chairperson of Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance (FIND) said, “Usec Catura’s statement was unfounded. He is the agent of fake information himself and not us, the NGOs. If we were to go by Mr. Catura’s assertion then the UN Human Rights Council has been deceived when it voted to conduct an investigation into allegations of human rights violations in the Philippines. Is Mr. Catura prepared to accuse Member States representatives of being gullible as to believe so-called “pathological liars?”

“TFDP will remain steadfast in our statements and assertion about the worsening human rights situation in the country caused by Duterte’s whimsical and capricious display of vindictiveness. Our assertion is supported with evidences, documentation and facts as stated in our mid-term assessment report. Human rights defenders organizations like TFDP have its established record and unblemished reputation when it comes to documentation of cases human rights violations since the late dictator Marcos’ martial law period up to the present,” Fr. Buenafe insisted.

The Philippine government cannot deny the fact that Church people, journalists, lawyers and human rights defenders are randomly attacked, he added.

Their institutions and organizations are threatened. Issuance of unverified information fabricating "truths" and releasing trolls for propaganda could lead to the filing of trumped-up charges and allegations against them individually or as a group, labeling their works as "destabilization" moves and part of "oust Duterte" plot is defamation in its highest form. —LBG, GMA News