‘KILL KILL KILL’ (5)

KAMANGMANGAN ang suliranin ni Gongdi nang ipatupad niya ang digmaan kontra droga. Hindi niya naunawaan ang mukha ng mundo na kumokondena sa walang habas na patayan sa ilalim ng war on drugs. Hindi niya naiintindihan na nagbago na ang mundo. Dahil mamamatay tao, naniwala si Gongdi na magagawa niya ang gusto niya at makalusot. Bahagi ito ng unang tsapter ng aking aklat “KILL KILL KILL Extrajudicial Killings in the Philippines; Crimes Against Humanity vs. Rodrigo Duterte Et. Al.” Pakibasa:

EJKS AS MAJOR CONCERN
EXTRAJUDICIAL killings, or EJKs, have been the major human rights concern in the country for many years. The unabated rise of human rights violations, as reflected by the number of EJKs, tortured victims, arrests without warrants, and forced disappearances of political activists and critics under the Marcos dictatorship, was among the reasons the framers of the 1987 Constitution have included a constitutional provision on the creation of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR). The Constitution empowers the CHR to handle human rights abuses. Few countries have a human rights body in their respective constitutions.

Evidently, the number of human rights violations had increased substantially at the onset of the 2016 antidrug campaign and it had continued in the succeeding years but at a decreased level. It was perceived that civilian control over PNP and other security forces was inadequate and dismal to indicate an obvious loss of control. These were contained in a 2018 country report (Philippines) on human rights practices prepared by the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. It said:

“Human rights issues included unlawful or arbitrary killings by security forces, vigilantes, and others allegedly connected to the government, and by insurgents; forced disappearance; torture; arbitrary detention; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; political prisoners; arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy; criminal libel; killings of and threats against journalists; official corruption and abuse of power; and the use of forced and child labor.”

HUMAN RIGHTS TERRAIN. Unbeknown to Duterte, the human rights community or terrain is composed of international, regional, and local organizations that have been fully entrenched, well-versed, and functioning to deter transgressions, tyranny, and abuses of power by the powers-that-be. They have been vigilant against wanton violations with impunity against their people’s rights. The International Criminal Court (ICC), formed in 2003 by the Rome Statute, the multilateral treaty that calls for its creation and establishment, has been doing over the years since its creation its probe of abusive leaders, who have been facing various charges for human rights abuses. The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (UNOHR) has been taking a proactive stance on many human rights issues on a global scale.

The United Nations Commission on Human Rights was formed in 1946 mainly to promote human rights and push nations to adhere and follow treaties on human rights. But it did little to intervene and punish states, which had violated global rules on human rights. In 2016, this body was replaced by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), a collegial body of representatives of at least 53 member-states. It holds annual meetings in Geneva to review the human rights situation in many countries. This body should not be confused with the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the job of which is to coordinate activity related to human rights. This office is part of the United Nations Secretariat and the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights reports directly to the UN Secretary-General.

The international terrain for human rights protection is incomplete without mentioning the Human Rights Watch, an independent, private international organization that works as part of a vibrant movement to uphold human dignity and advance the cause of human rights for all. Formed in 1978 with the founding of its Europe and Central Asia division (then known as Helsinki Watch), Human Rights Watch has divisions worldwide. It has thematic divisions or programs on arms; business and human rights; children’s rights; crisis and conflict; disability rights; the environment and human rights; international justice; lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights; refugee rights; and women’s rights. It is an independent, nongovernmental organization supported by contributions from private individuals and foundations worldwide. It accepts no government funds, directly or indirectly.

Another non-government organization in the global protection of human rights is the London-based Amnesty International. It claims to have more than ten million members worldwide. Its mission is to campaign for “a world in which every person enjoys all of the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights instruments.” It issues periodic reports about human rights issues.

The HRW and Amnesty International complement the Philippine-based Commission on Human Rights (CHR) particularly in ensuring the compliance of the Philippine government on the international covenants, treaties, pacts, and agreements on human rights. The CHR has been instrumental not just in the prosecution of human rights violators but in deterring prospective human rights violations. The CHR’s creation and its inclusion in the Constitution has been a model among developing countries that have human rights issues. As a constitutional body, the CHR has ascertained that the issue of human rights is not only a side issue in effective governance. It is indeed part and parcel of governance.

VERBAL ABUSES. Knowing the CHR was a big obstacle on his war on drugs and its human rights violations and abuses, Rodrigo Duterte had subjected the constitutional body to verbal abuses or bad mouthing, which was his usual disdainful but outmoded style to dramatize his point, or contempt on which he fancied. At one point, he claimed that the CHR was a “toothless” and “powerless” agency because it could only investigate police officers and other state workers engaged in the war on drugs if he would allow as president such probes.12 The CHR has other low points. At a forgettable point, Duterte floated its possible abolition. But this was easily shot down by his critics not only because it was easier said than done but mainly because it would require an amendment in the Constitution, which was not easy to pursue on the basis of Philippine political history.

At another point, his allies in Congress initiated the move to defund the CHR by reducing to P1,000 its proposed budget of over P600 million in the proposed 2018 national budget. The move to defund a constitutional body did not prosper to kill CHR. Later, Congress enacted the appropriation law that brought back the CHR’s original budget. The proposed defund initiated by one of the ill repute but comical lawmakers named Rodante Marcoleta, who represented the party list group of the indigenous Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC), was ignored. Marcoleta’s proposal to defund CHR was more for show, nothing else. It did not go as planned because many lawmakers opposed it to Duterte’s chagrin and total frustration. Lesson: it was not easy too to defund a constitutional body. (Itutuloy)