Human Rights are Central Issues of the May 13 Midterm Elections

As the Filipino nation prepares to head to the polls on 13 May midterm elections, the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) calls on the Filipino electorate to vote for candidates who may not yet have clear human rights agenda but have shown firm commitments to promote and respect human rights especially before and during the elections.

We all know that the Philippines holds a notorious reputation for having dirty and violent elections in the past, painfully exhibited, among many others, by the 2009 Maguindanao massacre, in which 58 people were killed including 34 mediamen and one disappeared.

Gross human rights violations such as enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings and torture continue to mar the country even under the current Aquino administration. The Jonas Burgos disappearance case gaining legal grounds in the discovery of new documentary evidence against the military is one of the issues needing policy considerations and, therefore must be addressed by all political parties and candidates through their political platfroms. All stakeholders must ensure that human rights are respected during the elections. The reports of election-related incidents of violence and deaths, albeit lower than those during previous elections, are still alarming and too high a price to take. There are fears that these would escalate in the run up to the election day.

While we recognize the efforts of the Philippine government, particularly the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), to address the continuing election violence that has apparently become a permanent feature of the Philippine elections, it needs to take more stringent steps to make sure that the upcoming midterm elections will be safer and fairer.

We therefore, challenge all political parties and candidates to make the elections as venues for publicly pronouncing their human rights agenda. One test of their commitment to human rights is their concrete contribution to peaceful elections. If elected, they must prove to their constituents their human rights commitments by fully implementing pieces of human rights legislation such as, but not limited to the Republic Act 10353 or the Anti-Enforced Disappearance law of 2012 and its Implementing Rules and Regulations. AFAD particularly calls on future government officials to help us convince the Philippine government to comply with international human rights standards specifically by signing and ratifying the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.

We call on the media to effectively play its vital role as the eyes, ears and voices of the public through their impartial election coverage. The media must help make the election an opportunity for the people to make a stand on various election issues.

The upcoming polls are crucial in shaping the future of this country. The respect for human rights during the elections is essential not only for the political stability of the country but also for social and economic development. The midterm elections must not only guarantee meaningful participation of the Filipino people but it also must ensure an enabling climate in which the Filipino people can participate freely in the electoral process without fear of being victimized by human rights violations.

The May 13 midterm elections are keys for the Aquino government to prove that its “matuwid na daan” is indeed a road towards a lasting peace and unity for this country, and not a road that leads to more injustices and human rights violations.

AFAD Statement
11 May 2013
Signed by:

MARY AILEEN D. BACALSO
Secretary-General

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