While Tacloban City was still asleep on February 7, state forces were busy brewing chaos. In the wee hours of the morning, police officers raided the offices of several legal organizations, leading to the arrest of five individuals. Out of nowhere, high-powered guns, grenades, and cash were allegedly recovered inside.

In a Gestapo-style raid, the police nabbed four community organizers and a journalist, along with an infant whose mother was among the arrested. But instead of undergoing inquest procedures, the five were forced to stay behind bars without formal raps filed against them. This is similar to the case of Panday Sining 4 in November 2019 when they were illegally detained in Manila for over a week.

Individuals accused of violating grave offenses can only be detained with no formal charge for a maximum of 36 hours, but prosecutors only filed cases of illegal possession of firearms and explosives against the five after two days. Only Bayan Eastern Visayas staff Mira Legion is temporarily out on bail, as the Collegian went to press.

Around a week later in Quezon province, meanwhile, two volunteer organizers for a peasant group went missing for about two weeks, according to Karapatan. 

Such incidents manifest the dire human rights situation in the country, perpetuated by state policies that coddle violence and impunity, according to the Philippine Human Rights Information Center (PhilRights). This state-sponsored violence, however, not only endangers the lives of those on the ground like community organizers and farmers but also those who choose to speak against the government’s policies.

‘Hush’ money

“[The government’s] crackdown on dissent through legal and military [ways] only proves na yung democratic spaces [sa bansa] ay shrinking na at a drastic state,” said Philip Jamilla of Karapatan, a non-government human rights group.

Instead of addressing the causes of the country’s problems like poverty and lack of national industries, the government has instead subscribed to silencing those who dare to speak up against issues, he added.

The Department of Information, Communication, and Technology, for example, used P300 million on surveillance activities. Not only is it beyond the ambit of the department; it also showed the government’s weaponization of civilian agencies to snoop on Filipinos. This is further legitimized by the “whole-of-nation” approach following Executive Order 70 (EO 70) against communist groups.

The funding for such a policy also comes into question as the government doles out money to those who surrender as rebels. “Matatandaan nating gumamit ang [militar] ng manipulated photos ng pekeng surrenderees,’” Jamilla said, referring to the fabricated photo of supposed armed rebels surrendering to the government that the Armed Forces of the Philippines posted online in December.

If the military is capable of faking surrenderees, then the money that is supposed to be given to surrenderees might fall into wrong hands, said Jamilla. “The taxpayer’s money is being used against them.”

Economic attacks

Assaults against human rights, however, do not only happen through killings and arrests, as the people’s economic, social, and cultural rights are also under siege, PhilRights noted.

The fiasco on ABS-CBN’s franchise renewal, for example, would effectively curtail the people’s right to information, according to Jun Sepe of the Photojournalists Center of the Philippines during a mobilization in front of ABS-CBN on February 14.

Other legislative and policy measures implemented by the government such as the Rice Tariffication Law and Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Law, meanwhile, seek to further wreak havoc on Filipinos, economically, as prices of commodities climb while salaries stagnate.

Aside from having the lowest minimum wage in the country at P282, tobacco farmers in Region 1 suffer from a much worse condition, as the sin tax law also gravely affected their livelihood.

“It has become increasingly clear that this administration’s approach to economic development has a blinkered view of the relationship between socioeconomic progress and human rights–one that disregards the rights of many for the benefit of a few,” PhilRights wrote.

Tipping point

Amid attacks from the administration, cause-oriented formations have made significant strides along the way. 

The United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council has passed a resolution to probe extrajudicial killings in the country. The UN International Criminal Court is also set to release its findings on the country’s human rights situation this year which will determine whether or not they will proceed to try the president for so-called crimes against humanity.

Locally, a House bill seeking to protect and promote the rights of human rights defenders like the Tacloban 5 is also pending in the House of Representatives. The Makabayan bloc similarly authored a resolution urging Congress to investigate human rights violations. Both measures, however, remain at the committee level. 

Among other things, the fight towards respecting human rights must ultimately push for the junking of all legal codes and instruments that allow for these attacks to thrive, said Jamilla.

“Mahalagang mapaingay natin ang mga isyung kinakaharap ng bansa di lamang sa social media, o kaya sa mga legal ways, kundi sa parlamento rin ng lansangan upang marinig ng pamahalaan ang ating boses,” he said. “Kung ‘whole-of-nation’ ang atake sa atin, dapat ‘whole-of-nation’ din ang pagkakaisa natin sa paglaban.” •

Published in print in the Collegian’s February 24, 2020 issue with the title “Democratic spaces shrink as gov’t assails dissenters.”