PRESS STATEMENT
December 10, 2024
Today, as the world observes International Human Rights Day, the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) joins the Filipino people in demanding justice and accountability for the unrelenting human rights abuses that stain the regimes of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Rodrigo Duterte. No amount of PR gloss or high-sounding executive orders can obscure the harrowing realities faced by those whose rights have been trampled under their watch.
On this day, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. unveils his so-called Philippine Human Rights Action Plan, a grand charade meant to deodorize his administration in the face of persistent human rights violations. Yet, the numbers betray him:
119 extrajudicial killings (EJKs) since July 2022, 76 frustrated extrajudicial killings, 14 enforced disappearances, over 43,000 displaced by forced evacuations, and tens of thousands affected by indiscriminate military bombings and firing in the countryside.
These atrocities mirror the violence of the Duterte regime, which left an indelible mark on the nation through its bloody war on drugs, claiming over 30,000 lives. Under Marcos Jr., that campaign persists, with over 800 drug-related killings recorded—a mockery of his so-called “bloodless” approach.
At the heart of this carnage lies the weaponization of the law. The continued operation of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) ensures a culture of red-tagging, where human rights defenders, development workers, civil society organizations, and everyday citizens are branded as “terrorists” to justify harassment, surveillance, and trumped-up charges, if not outright violence. Terror laws have become blunt instruments to crush dissent, obfuscating activism as terrorism in a shameless bid to silence dissent and criticism.
These policies, rooted in militarism and impunity, have turned the Philippine countryside into battlefields, where civilians bear the brunt of repression. Food blockades, economic restrictions, and the encroachment of military rule over civilian life echo the most oppressive chapters of our nation’s history.
And while the people cry for justice, the regime drowns their voices in greed. The Marcos administration continues the Duterte practice of abusing confidential and intelligence Funds (CIF)—the same funds Rodrigo Duterte used to fuel his death squads and Sara Duterte allegedly plundered for personal gain. In 2023 alone, Marcos Jr. allocated a staggering ₱4.56 billion in CIF to his office, perpetuating the corruption he inherited from his predecessor.
This International Human Rights Day, we remind the Marcos Jr. regime that no charade can erase the blood on its hands. We demand justice for the victims of extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and other human rights abuses; the impeachment and prosecution of Sara Duterte for the plunder of public funds; and the dismantling of repressive laws and policies, including the Anti-Terrorism Act and NTF-ELCAC which institutionalize red-tagging and the criminalization of dissent.
The struggle for human rights and justice is a movement. As long as the people are oppressed and as long as the law is wielded as a weapon against the marginalized, we will resist. We will move forward in the pursuit of accountability and justice!
Marcos Singilin! Duterte Panagutin!
Reference:
Atty. Josalee S. Deinla
NUPL Secretary General
+639174316396
