International human rights watchdogs Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have warned that freedom of expression remains at risk in the Philippines, following the visit of United Nations Special Rapporteur Irene Khan.
Amnesty Philippines director Butch Olano said the government should not wait until the UN Human Rights Council session in June 2025 to implement Khan’s recommendations. “For human rights to be fully realized, the Marcos administration should commit to alleviating the current human rights situation in the country by acknowledging Khan’s preliminary recommendations now, not wait for the UN session in 2025, to take concrete steps in ending the repression of the right to freedom of expression, impunity, and harassment of human rights defenders, journalists, and student activists,” Olano added in a statement.
Human Rights Watch, another international watchdog, also expressed concern over the continued practice of “Red tagging” under Mr. Marcos and urged the president to end it.
In its World Report 2024, released in January, the group said that Red tagging has paced activists and critics at serious risk of physical attacks and other abuses.
At the end of her 10-day visit to the country on Friday, Khan told reporters that the administration has done a better job than its predecessor in terms of respect for human rights. She acknowledged that the country has improved from its status when former President Rodrigo Duterte was still in charge, as the Marcos government shows a willingness to cooperate with international bodies.
However, Khan admitted that more effort was needed to truly go against the past. She pointed out that dealing with the “grave and deep seated human rights problems” in the country would require “fundamental and sustained reforms and a clear commitment to accountability.”
In her exit report, Khan recommended that government disband its anticommunist task force which has been blamed for endangering the lives and safety of human rights defenders, activists, independent journalists, and the opposition by Red tagging them. Government officials have rejected that recommendation, arguing it is not yet time to dismantle the task force.
There are still too many calls from watchdogs for the Philippine government to get its act together when it comes to human rights. Hopefully our leaders are listening and slowly but surely recalibrating their outlook and strategies so our society ends up improving as a whole, not just in terms of security of the people and the tenure of politicians and individuals who are capable of using government resources to advance their interests.*
