THE human rights situation in the country has significantly improved under the Marcos administration, marked by significant accomplishments in providing equal and fair opportunities for all Filipinos, according to the state-owned Philippine News Agency (PNA).
International watchdogs such as Human Rights Watch (HRW) even observed the improving state of human rights in the country, citing Marcos’ “stark contrast to the unabashedly anti-rights positions” of his predecessor, former President Rodrigo Duterte,” the PNA report stated.
“In several international forums, Marcos has affirmed his administration’s commitment to human rights. The government has likewise begun engaging more openly with international actors, for example, by inviting UN (United Nations) human rights experts to the country,” HRW said in its World Report 2024 for the Philippines released on Jan. 11, it added.
The Marcos administration “recalibrated the anti-drug campaign as opposed to its predecessor’s bloody drug war which drew acerbic public criticism and outrage in view of thousands of alleged drug suspects summarily executed, the report stated.
As of December last year, at least 23 provinces, 447 municipalities and 43 cities have established their respective community-based drug rehabilitation programs in collaboration with the Department of the Interior and Local Government, the Dangerous Drugs Board, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, and the Philippine National Police (PNP).
To prove that the anti-narcotics campaign of the Marcos administration spares no one, 177 PNP officers in Metro Manila alone were cited as respondents in drug-related cases, arising from alleged planting of evidence, unlawful arrest, and excessive violence.
On top of this, around 65 of 985 police officers who have also been dismissed from office from July 1, 2022 to Jan. 3, 2024 were positive for using illegal drugs while 43 were involved in illegal drugs, the report also stated.
In the anti-insurgency department, Marcos has so far issued four proclamations in November last year granting amnesty to former New People’s Army (NPA) rebels and members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawa ng Pilipinas/Revolutionary Proletarian Army/Alex Boncayao Brigade (RPMP-RPA-ABB).
The offer of amnesty was part of his administration’s comprehensive peace initiatives to encourage rebels to reintegrate into mainstream society.
To date, a total of 26,145 former MILF combatants have rejoined the mainstream of society.
The process, which involves the laying down of arms and return of former combatants to the fold of law, was a key component of the normalization program under the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro.
The seven intergovernmental mechanisms to achieve peace and progress in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) are also working in full swing. These include the Philippine Congress-Bangsamoro Parliament Forum; Intergovernmental Fiscal Policy Board; Joint Body for the Zones of Joint Cooperation; Intergovernmental Infrastructure Development Board; Intergovernmental Energy Board; Bangsamoro Sustainable Development Board; and the Council of Leaders.
The government’s intensified campaign against insurgency also resulted in the dismantling of all NPA guerilla fronts in the country, while the national government in November last year agreed to a “principled and peaceful resolution of the armed conflict” with the communist group’s political wing, the National Democratic Front (NDF).
In a joint statement issued on Nov. 23, 2023, the Philippine government and the NDF acknowledged the need “to unite as a nation in order to urgently address these challenges and resolve the reasons for the armed conflict.”
The Marcos administration also remains committed to upholding the Philippine media’s freedom of speech and expression, with the Presidential Task Force of Media Security (PTFoMS) taking the lead in ensuring that media workers’ rights are protected.
The PTFoMS is working relentlessly to address the problems besetting the Philippine press, including the cases of killings of media personalities.
The PTFoMS guarantees that press freedom is “alive and vibrant” under Marcos’ leadership.
In an effort to promote gender equality and stop discrimination in the country, Marcos also issued Executive Order (EO) 51 on Dec. 22, 2023 to create a special committee on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, and more (LGBTQIA+) affairs.
The creation of a Special Committee on LGBTQIA+ Affairs under the Inter-Agency Committee aims to strengthen existing mechanisms to address the continued discrimination being experienced by the members of the community, according to EO 51.
The issuance of the EO will also provide the LGBTQIA+ members an avenue to participate in policy formulation of the government, despite the absence of an established body specifically dedicated to promote their rights and address their concerns.