Human Rights

The Philippines is facing a huge justice gap that perpetuates human-rights abuses especially on women and children, a report from a London-based international human rights organization showed.

MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) now has its own Witness Protection Program (WPP) which seeks to protect the lives of witnesses in human rights violations cases.

MANILA, Philippines – A broadcaster of a state-owned radio network in Kalinga was shot by unidentified men inside his booth yesterday morning, but he survived the attack.

MANILA, Philippines – A visiting human rights expert said yesterday presidential candidates have failed to make a firm commitment to provide a comprehensive action plan to end unexplained killings and enforced disappearances.

UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE I thought at first it was a joke. “The European Union [EU] has declared traveling a human right, and is launching a scheme to subsidize vacations with taxpayers’ dollars” for the poor, the elderly, for young people ages 18 to 25, for the disabled and others with undefined social distresses, the press…

DAVAO CITY , Philippines  – The Office of the Ombudsman has suspended for six months at least 26 ranking police officers for their alleged failure to solve killings blamed on the so-called Davao Death Squad in this southern metropolis.

MANILA, Philippines—Malacañang Sunday said the government had nothing to hide in the case of the so-called “Morong 43,” amid a report that two staff members of an American congressman who were in the country recently had made inquiries about the case.

THE court has approved a request of the military for the transfer of 38 of the 43 suspected New People’s Army (NPA) previously arrested in Morong, Rizal at Camp Crame in Quezon City while the remaining rebels will stay at a military camp.

DAVAO CITY – For televangelist Apollo Quiboloy, the presence of anti-communist partylist leaders, retired Major General Jovito Palparan and Pastor “Jun” Alcover, is a spark plug that could blow up and burn down the city.

MANILA, Philippines – The government will meet with the diplomatic community tomorrow to explain its side on the alleged human rights abuses committed against the so-called Morong 43.

MANILA, Philippines—A former leader of a local transport group was shot dead by four gunmen at a jeepney terminal in Quezon City on Sunday afternoon because of a suspected dispute within the organization.

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines – A militant group condemned authorities for the continued “illegal detention” of a woman peasant leader, who it said also worked as an El Niño consultant at the time of her “unlawful arrest” in northern Cagayan last March 22.

Authorities hearing the case of the “Morong 43” should give due consideration to recent findings of the Department of Health and the Philippine Medical Association (PMA) that the detained individuals were not legitimate health workers.

MANILA, Philippines—The US State Department has reported that extrajudicial killings remained a major problem in the Philippines last year and that security forces and insurgent groups were both responsible.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine National Police (PNP) yesterday admitted that there are human rights abuses in the organization but has assured the public that it is not tolerating such abuses and is now in the process of cleansing its ranks.

Criminals, beware. It is not bad enough to be imprisoned for doing a crime since prisoners also have to endure the sickening situation of prison and detention centers in the Philippines, a US report said over the weekend. The US State Department 2009 Country Report on Human Rights Practices on the Philippines released Thursday (Friday…

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang has expressed elation over the positive assessment it got from the US State Department on some aspects of the Philippine government’s handling of human rights cases but it acknowledged that much more could be done to prevent abuses by state forces.

MANILA, Philippines – Majority of the so-called Morong 43 have no certification from the Department of Health (DOH) to qualify them as medical workers, police said yesterday.

TOP government officials in the from of Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita and Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo, Justice Undersecretary Ricardo Blan-caflor, joined European Union Ambassador Alistair MacDonald to launch the EU-Philippine Justice Support Programme (EPJUST). Also participating were Detlev Mehlis, the team-leader of the EPJUST program, and Bo Åström, the program’s police advisor.

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TOP government officials in the from of Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita and Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo, Justice Undersecretary Ricardo Blan-caflor, joined European Union Ambassador Alistair MacDonald to launch the EU-Philippine Justice Support Programme (EPJUST). Also participating were Detlev Mehlis, the team-leader of the EPJUST program, and Bo Åström, the program’s police advisor.

Camp Vicente Lim, Laguna, Philippines – A 50-year-old president of a transport group in Bacoor, Cavite was shot dead near his home last Saturday morning, authorities said.

THE Philippines launched a European-funded program Thursday to reduce the country’s large number of summary killings and disappearances of activists, journalists and union workers.

MANILA, Philippines—Relatives and colleagues of 43 people, including two doctors, a nurse and a midwife, are set to file petitions for writs of amparo and of habeas corpus before the Supreme Court on Monday for what they called illegal arrests of the health workers by a joint team of the military and police in Morong,…

MANILA, Philippines – Relatives of  13 journalists slain in the November 23, 2009 massacre in Ampatuan, Maguindanao brought a landmark suit Wednesday before the newly-established ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) to hold the Philippine government accountable for the carnage.

Meaning of human rights MANILA, Philippines – Human rights refer to the “basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled.” Human Rights Include “civil and political rights, such as the right to life and liberty, freedom of expression and a equality before the law as well as social, cultural and economic rights, the…

MANILA, Philippines – International rights group Human Rights Watch on Wednesday blamed the Philippine government for allowing the proliferation of private armies of political leaders, which resulted in the “horrendous” massacre of 57 people in Maguindanao province last November.

The year 2009 was a banner year for the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in terms of its improved human rights record.

BRUSSELS – The Philippines, Mexico and Somalia were the most dangerous countries for journalists in 2009, according to the Brussels-based International Federation of Journalists.

MANILA, Philippines – The country’s dismal reputation on human rights promotion and protection got worse in 2009.