Author Archives: Human Rights Online Philippines

[Statement] Stop enforced disappearances everywhere in the world, including Bangladesh |AFAD, FIDH, Maayer Daak, and Odhikar

Posted on by Leave a comment

A Joint Statement by the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD), International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), Maayer Daak, and Odhikar on the occasion of International Week of the Disappeared 2022

BANGLADESH: Government must stop enforced disappearances and ensure right to truth, justice, reparation, and guarantees of non-recurrence

Dhaka/Manila/Paris, 23 May 2022: On the occasion of the International Week of the Disappeared, the Asian Federation against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD), the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), Maayer Daak, and Odhikar remember and pay homage to victims of enforced disappearance and stand in solidarity with the families of the disappeared.

In Bangladesh, enforced disappearances continue to occur. Bangladeshi law enforcement agencies, particularly the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and the Detective Branch of police are responsible for the commission of the majority of cases of enforced disappearance in the country. Most of the victims of enforced disappearance have been identified as leaders and activists of opposition parties and dissidents.

Read more

[Statement] On the 2022 Philippine Presidential Election | AMP

Posted on by Leave a comment

Joint Statement on the 2022 Philippine Presidential Election

After the landslide victory of Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and Sara Duterte-Carpio in the 2022 presidential election the Aktionsbündnis Menschenrechte-Philippinen (AMP) calls on the new government to immediately address the dire human rights situation in the country.

The AMP expresses its concern that neither Marcos Jr., the son of former dictator Marcos Sr., nor Duterte-Carpio, the daughter of outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte, have distanced themselves from the human rights violations committed under their fathers.

Both Marcos and Duterte-Carpio vowed to continue President Duterte’s war on drugs and to disallow independent international investigations into the human rights abuses under the Duterte government. Instead of neglecting these abuses, the unity proclaimed by the Marcos-Duterte tandem should imply acknowledging the victims and human rights violations, enabling justice, and ending impunity. The AMP therefore calls on the designated President Marcos and Vice-President Duterte-Carpio to enable the investigation and prosecution of at least 279 cases of extrajudicial killings of human rights defenders (HRDs) and journalists1 as well as of about 12,000-30,000 extrajudicial killings in the name of the so-called war on drugs.

Read more

[Video] Paano ba nag-mo-move on ang mga biktima ng pag-aabuso noong Martial Law? | 11,103

Posted on by Leave a comment

*Warning: Graphic descriptions of violence

Paano ba nag-mo-move on ang mga biktima ng pag-aabuso noong Martial Law? Pakinggan ang kwento ni. Dr. Aurora Parong.

11,103 is a documentary about the survivors of State-sponsored violence administered during the dark days of the Marcos dictatorship. Many have struggled to come to terms with what had happened to them.

https://www.facebook.com/11103film

Submit your contribution online through HRonlinePH@gmail.com
Include your full name, e-mail address, and contact number.

All submissions are republished and redistributed in the same way that it was originally published online and sent to us. We may edit the submission in a way that does not alter or change the original material.

Human Rights Online Philippines does not hold copyright over these materials. Author/s and original source/s of information are retained including the URL contained within the tagline and byline of the articles, news information, photos, etc.

[Featured site] www.remember-love.org

Posted on by Leave a comment

Sa darating na halalan sana maalala natin ang mga batang naulila sa “War on Drugs”.

PARA KANINO ANG BOTO MO? SANA PARA RIN SA KANILA.

For more information on this project, possible collaborations, or donations please check our website:
https://www.remember-love.org/

Submit your contribution online through HRonlinePH@gmail.com
Include your full name, e-mail address, and contact number.

All submissions are republished and redistributed in the same way that it was originally published online and sent to us. We may edit the submission in a way that does not alter or change the original material.

Human Rights Online Philippines does not hold copyright over these materials. Author/s and original source/s of information are retained including the URL contained within the tagline and byline of the articles, news information, photos, etc.

[Statement] Recent shooting incident against IPs, Ka Leody’s team, a product of Duterte’s years of emboldening and enabling a culture of violence and impunity |LILAK

Posted on by Leave a comment

Recent shooting incident against IPs, Ka Leody’s team, a product of Duterte’s years of emboldening and enabling a culture of violence and impunity

LILAK Purple Action for Indigenous Women’s Rights strongly condemns the shooting committed by the security guards of an agri-business plantation company at the Manobo- Pulangiyon indigenous peoples in Quezon, Bukidnon yesterday, April 19.

Around 500 Manobo-Pulangiyon people were set to repossess their ancestral land yesterday occupied by the Kiantig Development Corporation (KDC). They planned to occupy the remaining four hectares unplanted to pineapples, out of the 958 hectares recognized by the National Commission of Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) as their ancestral land. As the indigenous peoples reached the area, they planted a white flag, as part of their repossession activity. That was when the security guards fired shots at the Manobo-Pulangiyon, together with the team of Presidential aspirant Ka Leody de Guzman, and senatorial candidates David D’Angelo and Roy Cabonegro.

Read more

[Off-the-shelf] No Time to Waste: Climate action through secure land rights and sustainable land use | ANGOC

Posted on by Leave a comment

No Time to Waste: Climate action through secure land rights and sustainable land use

The impacts of climate change on human communities and land-use systems can bear heavily on people’s land access and land tenure in ways that affect their homes and livelihoods, well-being, and sense of security. Communities may be hit by sudden and extreme events such as storms and floods, or they may gradually be detached from their homes and lands as a result of slow-onset environmental degradation, such as sea-level rise, and overall shifts in weather patterns.

But while climate change affects everyone, it disproportionately impacts the lives and livelihoods of those who are poor and lack land tenure rights. Poverty often forces people to cultivate marginal lands or occupy fragile public land or areas that are vulnerable to erosion, flooding, high tides, and storm surges. Moreover, the lack of tenure security limits people’s choices and diminishes their capacity to recover and rebuild when a disaster strikes.

This publication attempts to describe the links between land rights, climate change, and resource management. It also shares experiences from rural communities in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, and the Philippines.

Click the link to access the document @angoc.org

Submit your contribution online through HRonlinePH@gmail.com
Include your full name, e-mail address, and contact number.

All submissions are republished and redistributed in the same way that it was originally published online and sent to us. We may edit the submission in a way that does not alter or change the original material.

Human Rights Online Philippines does not hold copyright over these materials. Author/s and original source/s of information are retained including the URL contained within the tagline and byline of the articles, news information, photos, etc.

[From the web] Asian NGOs Call on Governments to Regulate EDCs in Products | EcoWaste Coalition

Posted on by Leave a comment

Asian NGOs Call on Governments to Regulate Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) in Products

Non-government organizations (NGOs) from South, Southeast, and East Asia, including the Philippines, have called on national governments to adopt and strictly implement regulations to address endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in products. The NGOs are participating organizations of the International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN), a global civil society network working for a toxics-free world.

At a recently held EDC- Free Asia Conference, the NGOs discussed the results of a regional study undertaken in partnership with the Wonjin Institute for Occupational and Environmental Health (WIOEH), with support from the Financial Industry Public Interest Foundation (FIPIF), Korea to determine the presence of phthalates in erasers and bisphenol-A (BPA) in thermal papers and to promote regulatory reforms.

Read more

[From the web] TDC Formally Submitted the 13-point Agenda to Bets

Posted on by One comment

TDC Formally Submitted the 13-point Agenda to Bets

The Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC) has now formally submitted the 13-Point Teachers’ Dignity Agenda to the candidates for president, vice president, senators, and some party-list representatives for the coming May 9, 2022.

According to Benjo Basas, the group’s chairperson, “the Agenda focuses on the rights and welfare of the teachers such as salary increase, implementation of the 1966 vintage Magna Carta for Public School Teachers, compensation for those affected by COVID-19, free post-graduate education, provision of free laptop computers and internet services, and the creation of a separate insurance system and hospital for teachers, among other long-overdue benefits. As well, we have demands on learning itself, such as improvements in the curriculum, reduction of class size, provision of books and other materials and facilities and adequate funding for the safe return to normal school operation”

Read more

[From the web] Civil Society Groups Campaign for Children’s Protection from Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals | EcoWaste Coalition

Posted on by One comment

Civil Society Groups Campaign for Children’s Protection from Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals

As thousands of schools brace for limited face-to-face classes amid declining COVID-19 cases in the Philippines, two non-profit groups raised the alarm over the sale of erasers containing endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), particularly phthalates.

The EcoWaste Coalition and the Interfacing Development Interventions for Sustainability (IDIS) pitched for regulatory measures that will prohibit phthalates — a group of chemicals added to soften polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic — in erasers and, hopefully, in more products other than toys that are marketed for children’s use.

This developed as the groups announced the detection of large amounts of phthalates in erasers they bought from retail stores located in 11 cities and shipped to South Korea for laboratory analysis.

Read more

[Statement] Compressed workweek: misguided policy for workers amidst fuel crisis | IOHSAD

Posted on by Leave a comment

Compressed workweek: misguided policy for workers amidst fuel crisis

The Institute for Occupational Health and Safety Development or IOHSAD calls on the government to directly address the reasons for the continuous oil price hikes instead of pushing for the implementation of a compressed workweek that can be detrimental to workers’ health and safety. This work scheme passes the burden of surviving this crisis to the backs of workers while the government turns away from the responsibility of mitigating or ending, the dreadful effects of oil deregulation on people’s lives.

Long working hours kill workers! Longer working hours prolong exposures to hazards at work, and this increases the risk for work-related injuries and diseases. There is a time-dependent increase in the risk for accidents, injuries, falls, infections, respiratory and cardiovascular diseases beyond the standard working hours. Twelve-hour workdays increase the risk for injuries and accidents by 37%, and this risk increases with overtime and an extended workweek.

Read more

[Press Release] Kumpirmado: Mga gurong uupo sa halalan, kakaltasan ng 20% sa honorarium | TDC

Posted on by Leave a comment

Kumpirmado: Mga gurong uupo sa halalan, kakaltasan ng 20% sa honorarium

Ayon kay Benjo Basas, National Chairperson ng TDC, ito umano ang kinumpirma ng ilan nilang kasapi na dumalo sa isinasagawang pagsasanay kaugnay sa darating na halalan sa Mayo.

“Para namang atat na atat sa maliit na halagang masisingil ang BIR sa ating mga guro at talagang kinaltas na ang P200 sa P1000 na transportation allowance. Kung tutuusin ay halos wala nang halaga itong P1000 lalo pa ngayong sobra-sobra nang nagtaas ang presyo ng langis. Baka sa huli abonado pa ang mga teacher natin,” ayon kay Basas.

Nananawagan ang grupo sa Comelec at DepEd at maging sa mga mambabatas na agad na himukin ang BIR na suspendihin ang pagpapataw ng buwis na ito na ayon sa grupo ay hindi makatarungan.

Read more

[Off-the-shelf] Labor Laws for NGO Workers | SALIGAN

Posted on by Leave a comment

Labor Laws for NGO Workers

Non-government organizations (NGOs) engage workers in different capacities, whether as employees, consultants, volunteers, service providers, or project workers or in similar assignments. Labor Laws for NGO Workers focuses on the provisions of the Labor Code of the Philippines and closely related labor laws that apply to employees of NGOs.

Read more @ www.saligan.org

Submit your contribution online through HRonlinePH@gmail.com
Include your full name, e-mail address, and contact number.

All submissions are republished and redistributed in the same way that it was originally published online and sent to us. We may edit submission in a way that does not alter or change the original material.

Human Rights Online Philippines does not hold copyright over these materials. Author/s and original source/s of information are retained including the URL contained within the tagline and byline of the articles, news information, photos, etc.

[Press Release] Group Urges Government to Protect Consumers from Mercury-Added Products | EcoWaste Coalition

Posted on by Leave a comment

Group Urges Government to Protect Consumers from Mercury-Added Products

In observance of World Consumer Rights Day (WCRD) on March 15, a toxics watchdog group urged the authorities to launch a fresh drive to protect consumers from banned mercury-added products (MAPs) that are still sold locally, especially on e-commerce platforms.

WCRD is a yearly commemoration spearheaded by Consumers International to raise global awareness about the rights of consumers to basic needs, healthy environment, safety, information, education, choice, representation, and redress, and to demand respect and protection for such basic rights.

“The government needs to mount a multifaceted campaign to stop the entry, distribution, and sale of mostly imported MAPs phased out in 2020 under the Minamata Convention on Mercury to reduce health risks and environmental contamination,” said Aileen Lucero, National Coordinator, EcoWaste Coalition.

Read more

[From the web] Farmers in MacArthur Leyte demand stop to mining as main canal is destroyed | ATM

Posted on by Leave a comment

Farmers in MacArthur Leyte demand stop to mining as main canal is destroyed

Farmers in MacArthur Leyte demanded that mining by MacArthur Iron Projects Corporation (MIPC) be stopped as they lamented how they lost their livelihood for a year now as the mining company destroyed the main canal and caused water to overflow in the farmlands.

The farmers testified before lawyers of the National Irrigation Authority who visited the mining site to inspect the canal, which the mining company earlier denied they destroyed.

Read more

[From the web] “Ayuda not loans” – Labor NGO comments on Bayanihan 2 unused loan funds for MSMEs | EILER

Posted on by Leave a comment

“Ayuda not loans” – Labor NGO comments on Bayanihan 2 unused loan funds for MSMEs

Labor NGO Ecumenical Institute for Labor Education and Research urges the government to provide ayuda instead of loans.

“Local businesses incurred severe losses due to the government’s ineffective lockdowns. Instead of loans, the government should give MSMEs unconditional aid to strengthen the domestic economy,” said EILER Executive Director Rochelle Porras.

In their comment on the recent COA report exposing the PhP 4.9 billion unused Bayanihan 2 loan funds for MSMEs, EILER highlights that only 4.9% of target MSMEs availed of the loan, citing the government lockdown and slow processing time as reasons for MSMEs to be discouraged.

Read more

[Tula] “Nakamamangha…” | ni Kelvin Vistan

Posted on by Leave a comment

“Nakamamangha…”

Isang tula.
(Binigkas: Nukes Coal-Free Bataan Movement Activity,
February 25, 2022)

Nakamamangha.
Nakamamangha nga namang
Sa pagbagwis ng kamalayan ng sangkatauhan
Ay natanto nyang
kayang
ilibid sa lubid ang kislap
ng pinagbanggang
sangkatining ng sangkatiting ng sangkatiting
at binaligtad ang pagsilang ng bituin,
kalamidad na inamo at nagawang pigain,
nakapagtatakang kayang ipunin,
na ningas at kidlat at kinalikot hanggang
pag-anyuing
dagitab.
Na isusubo sa sibilisasyong
Di maawat sa pag-abante’t pagkonsumo ng daigdig
Kaya madaling alukin ng kasinungalingang
“ligtas” ang mamuhunan sa nukleyar.
Kasinungalingan dahil
maningning na tuklas ay may kakambal
Na gimbal,
May kabakas na dahas.
Hindi simpleng nag-uumpisa
sa kislap ng kisapmatang salpukan
Dahil puhunan ay saling-ilang salinlahi nang
pagtungkab sa dawag ng gubat,
tayog ng bundok, buong pamayanan,
kapalit ng pirapirasong batong sangkap
na gamit sa pagluluto ng putaheng isusubo sa ambuklaw ng
kusinerong halimaw.

Read more

[Press Release] TDC challenged bets for Teachers’ Agenda

Posted on by Leave a comment

Group challenged bets for Teachers’ Agenda

The Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC) calls on the candidates for May 2022 elections to consider their comprehensive agenda for the country’s teachers and education workers dubbed as the ‘13-Point Teachers’ Dignity Agenda.’

“We have witnessed several forums and even debates where candidates, especially those gunning for the highest office in the land have presented their plans, unfortunately, we have yet to see a suitable platform that responds to the needs of our teachers and the education sector in general,” said Benjo Basas, the group’s National Chairperson.

Basas said that the 13-Point Teachers’ Dignity Agenda focuses on the rights and welfare of the teachers such as the increase in salaries, compensation for those affected by COVID-19, free post-graduate education, provision of free laptop computers and internet services, and putting up of a separate insurance system and hospital for teachers among other benefits. But there are also demands that address the learning of children like the change in curriculum, reduction of class size, provision of books and other materials and facilities, and adequate funding for the safe return of in-person classes.

Read more

[Off-the-shelf] LILAK PRESS: Advocating for Indigenous Women’s Rights: Lessons and Challenges by Judy Pasimio

Posted on by Leave a comment

LILAK PRESS: Advocating for Indigenous Women’s Rights: Lessons and Challenges by Judy Pasimio

LILAK Purple Action for Indigenous Women’s Rights featured story for Women’s Month is out now. Entitled Advocating for Indigenous Women’s Rights: Lessons and Challenges, Judy Pasimio chronicles her experiences while working with indigenous peoples and their communities. With her experiences working closely with male IP leaders, she asks “Where are the Indigenous women?”

Access the article @ https://bit.ly/3sQvRI9

Submit your contribution online through HRonlinePH@gmail.com
Include your full name, e-mail address, and contact number.

All submissions are republished and redistributed in the same way that it was originally published online and sent to us. We may edit submission in a way that does not alter or change the original material.

Human Rights Online Philippines does not hold copyright over these materials. Author/s and original source/s of information are retained including the URL contained within the tagline and byline of the articles, news information, photos, etc.

[From the web] Duterte Critic Leila de Lima Marks 5 Years in Wrongful Detention | Human Rights Watch

Posted on by Leave a comment

Candidates Should Pledge to Free Jailed Senator
Duterte Critic Leila de Lima Marks 5 Years in Wrongful Detention

Candidates for the Philippines presidency should pledge to drop all charges against Senator Leila de Lima, who will start her sixth year in detention on February 24, 2022, Human Rights Watch said today. De Lima has been arbitrarily detained since February 2017 on politically motivated drug charges in retaliation for her criticism of President Rodrigo Duterte’s “war on drugs” and other serious human rights violations.

De Lima was chair of the Commission on Human Rights when she began an investigation in 2009 into “death squad” killings in Davao City, where Duterte was the longtime mayor. After becoming president in 2016, Duterte quickly sought to sideline her politically. Duterte’s allies in the Senate removed her from committee chairmanship and his supporters in the House of Representatives and Justice Department initiated a misogynistic public attack against her. She was arrested on February 24, 2017, and has been held at the police headquarters at Camp Crame, where she faces baseless drug-related cases.

Read more

[People] The Power of the Innocent | by Fr. Shay Cullen

Posted on by Leave a comment

The Power of the Innocent
Fr. Shay Cullen

They are the brave, they are the strong, they are the empowered children that, at very young ages, some just six years old, stand up to their rapists and abusers, and with courage, bravely recount to the court of justice the wicked, sinful and criminal acts done to them.

The sexual abuse of children is as common as drinking coffee but the public does not know that there are thousands of abusers seeking out children every day. No child is ever totally safe. Anyone could be an abuser. Child abuse is a secret hidden crime done with threats, intimidation, and pressure on the child never to tell anyone or else something bad will happen to them or their siblings or relatives. The rapist will instill fear in the child with threats and he or she controls the child with fear ensuring silence.

Read more
« Older Entries