Free Legal Assistance Group lawyers on Thursday said the small fraction of police reports on the war on drugs they have reviewed bore a “strikingly” similar and almost “cut-and-paste” style of accounts of the killings. Incomplete records, lapses in police procedure, and unidentified assailants also marked FLAG’s findings from reports on 29 cases related to…
Supreme Court orders release of all ‘Tokhang’ police reports The Supreme Court has ordered the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) to release all ‘Oplan Tokhang’ police reports to human rights groups and victims that questioned the legality of the government’s war on drugs. “The Court just ordered the Solicitor General to submit the police…
29,000 deaths probed since drug war launched At least 29,000 cases of killings categorized as deaths under inquiry (DUI) have been recorded nationwide since President Duterte launched his crackdown on illegal drugs, according to the Philippine National Police (PNP). In an interview over The Chiefs on Cignal TV’s One News on Monday, PNP spokesman Col.…
Bishop confirms death threats Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, whom President Rodrigo Duterte threatened to kill, has been receiving death threats. On Tuesday, David said his life was in danger so he decided to skip the Ka Pepe Diokno Human Rights Awards in De La Salle University (DLSU) Manila. “For over a week now my mobile…
Duterte gov’t allows ‘drug war’ deaths to go unsolved The memory of the night Manny* was killed remains vivid in the mind of his mother Lita* one year later. His lifeless body slumped on the ground with a pool of blood slowly spreading on the ground, turned the gray concrete darker in color. It was…
iDEFEND renews call for an end to the war on drugs, citing IDPC report The International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC) report on the global failure to address illegal drugs cited the gruesome results of drug wars waged around the world: A 145 per cent increase in drug-related deaths over the last decade, totaling a harrowing…
Netflix’ Philippine ‘drug war’ propagandist By PHELIM KINE Deputy Asia Director Human Rights Watch http://www.atimes.com/netflix-philippine-drug-war-propagandist/ The new Netflix drama series Amo, inspired by the Philippine government’s real-life “war on drugs,” presents a sinister revisionist take on an ongoing human-rights calamity. Amo’s Filipino director, Brillante Mendoza, has described the 13-episode miniseries, which began streaming last month,…
Ending the War on Drugs Saves Lives Foreign Secretary Alan Cayetano on Tuesday told the UN Human Rights Council that the deadly war on drugs was meant to save Filipino lives from the scourge of illegal drugs. He thinks the world is hearing this for the first time. But the same argument was also used…
International Criminal Court (ICC) to open preliminary examination of the situation in the Philippines Statement of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Mrs Fatou Bensouda, on opening Preliminary Examinations into the situations in the Philippines and in Venezuela Following a careful, independent and impartial review of a number of communications and reports documenting alleged…
Philippines: Endorse UN Inquiry into ‘Drug War’ Killings Independent Investigation Needed to Clarify Death Toll, Promote Accountability (New York, February 1, 2018) – The Philippine government should urgently support the creation of a United Nations-led investigation into the thousands of killings linked to its “war on drugs,” Human Rights Watch said today. A UN-led probe…
Drug rehab patients in collaboration with artist Ralph Eya speaks out their “hatol” through a public art installation HATOL public art installation presents the consummation of the 3-day Visual Arts Therapy program of the Department of Health Treatment and Rehabilitation Center Bicutan. The socially engaged art project intended to contribute to the personal development of…
Effective and humane ways to manage the drug problem in the Philippines, a human rights and public health perspective by Jerbert Briola Torture Journal, Vol. 27, No. 2 (2017) The Torture Journal is an international scientific journal that provides an interdisciplinary forum for the exchange of original research and systematic reviews by professionals concerned with…
Reflections on Going Viral: What I learned from being featured by the online troll machine by Cecilia Lero I’ve spent the better part of the last decade working with and among inspiring leaders from urban poor communities on various issue like housing, health, education, and gender-based violence. I’ve also spent the better part of the…
Philippines’ Duterte Backpedals on Abusive ‘Drug War’ Police Operations Suspended Over Public Outcry, Trade Threat Phelim Kine Deputy Director, Asia Division @PhelimKine October 13, 2017 Dispatches Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is finally feeling the heat. On Thursday, he buckled to growing public dismay over his murderous “war on drugs” and ordered a suspension of the…
Philippines: The war on drugs – a top priority of OMCT The war on drugs among OMCT’s top priorities Geneva, 15 March 2017 – On the occasion of the upcoming Philippines’ Universal Periodic Review on human rights by the UN, the World Organization Against Torture (OMCT) will this week on two occasions denounce the many…
Respect for Life and Human Dignity Father Shay Cullen, mssc 6 January 2017 Bennie had a thin, hollow face, the picture of malnutrition at 22 years of age, he had never been to school for more than a few months, could not read or write and he was a one-meal man. He ate once a…
Broadcasting Misogyny and Abuse in Congress: A Mockery of (In) Justice KAISA KA Reacts to Hearings Probing De Lima Links to Drug Trade As an organization of grassroots women who are believe that women must be empowered fully in order to harness our full potential towards nation-building, Pagkakaisa ng Kababaihan para sa Kalayaan or KAISA…
Health, Not Death: A Statement Opposing the Reinstatement of Death Penalty in the Philippines November 24, 2016 The 17th Congress is currently deliberating proposed bills to reinstate the death penalty in the Philippines. Most of these bills take off from the government’s ongoing “war on drugs,” which sees people involved with drugs as criminals who…
Philippine Police Denied US Guns on Rights Concerns Assault Rifle Sale Derailment Targets Abusive ‘War on Drugs’ Phelim Kine By Phelim Kine Deputy Director, Asia Division @PhelimKine The United States State Department has suspended the sale of 26,000 military assault rifles to the Philippine National Police due to opposition to the sale by Senator Ben…
Philippines: Independent Investigation of Duterte Needed Allegations of Direct Involvement in Death Squads Call for UN Role (New York, September 16, 2016) – The Philippine government should invite an independent investigation involving the United Nations into allegations of direct involvement by President Rodrigo Duterte in extrajudicial killings, Human Rights Watch said today. On September 15,…
