FILE PHOTO: Lawyer Eric Jay Magcamit lies dead on a street in Narra, Palawan after his assassination on Nov. 17, 2020.
MANILA, Philippines鈥擲eptember, through Proclamation No. 713 signed and issued in 2004 by then-President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, was declared as Rule of Law Month.
Rule of law, as defined by the United Nations (UN) system, pertains to a principle in governance where all persons, institutions, entities, public and private, including the State itself, 鈥渁re accountable to laws that are publicly promulgated, equally enforced and independently adjudicated, and which are consistent with international human rights norms and standards.鈥�
鈥淭he rule of law is fundamental to international peace and security and political stability; to achieve economic and social progress and development; and to protect people鈥檚 rights and fundamental freedoms,鈥� said the UN.
鈥淚t is foundational to people鈥檚 access to public services, curbing corruption, restraining the abuse of power, and to establishing the social contract between people and the state,鈥� it added.
It also allows the enjoyment of rights and freedoms in an orderly environment.
Arroyo鈥檚 proclamation required the government to be responsible in promoting awareness and respect for rule of law.
But the celebration of Rule of Law Month may take a different twist under the Duterte administration, which has been accused of human rights violations in the course of its campaign against drugs and crime even at the height of the pandemic.
More abuses
A report recently released by the group Investigate PH found that violations of economic, social, and cultural rights, the right to development, self-determination, and peace have become more apparent amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the聽independent human rights group, cases of human rights violation in the country have increased since the release of the June 2020 report of the UN Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR).
鈥淗uman rights violations have worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic,鈥� Investigate PH said in its third聽report.
鈥淧olice killings of civilians during anti-drug operations have spiked during COVID-19. As of August 2020, such killings rose 50 to 76 percent per month on average, compared to the months preceding lockdown,鈥� the group added.
Data from the government, Philippine National Police (PNP), and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), said there were at least 5,903 persons slain during anti-drug operations from July 1, 2016 to Sept. 30, 2020.
Graphic by Ed Lustan
However, UN OHCHR said it believed that the numbers could be higher, or around 8,663, including killings by so-called non-state actors, or vigilantes.
READ: In bid to make PH safe, killings become norm
In July, Investigate PH said the PNP has been covering up the circumstances of the killings during anti-drug operations, intimidating the families of victims and potential witnesses, and obstructing the review of most killings by the Department of Justice (DOJ).
鈥淲hile the police claim that those killed in anti-drug operations were resisting鈥攌nown as the 鈥榥anlaban鈥� (fought back) narrative鈥� evidence indicates that unarmed victims have been executed either in their home, on the street or after being abducted, with weapons or drugs likely planted after,鈥� the group said in its second report.
鈥淭hose killed in anti-drug operations are overwhelmingly poor people unable to assert their rights to due process,鈥� it added.
A practice known as red-tagging, or branding someone or a group as communist rebel or supporter, has also become common during the Duterte administration, especially with the rise of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac) which was created by a Duterte executive order.
鈥淭his practice is a form of state terror, perpetrated by state agents and their proxies as part of the government鈥檚 strategy to repress dissent,鈥� Investigate PH said.
鈥淒isregarding evidence or due process, the simple act of 鈥榬ed-tagging鈥� someone鈥攅ven on social media鈥攃an lead to and institutionally legitimize government surveillance, 聽threats, harassment, intimidation, trumped up arrests, and even the killing of those red-tagged,鈥� the group said.
Slain lawyers
Attacks on lawyers, paralegals, and human rights workers have also increased under the Duterte administration, according to the National Union of People鈥檚 Lawyers (NUPL).
Graphic by Ed Lustan
In a report released last April, NUPL found that more lawyers have been killed under the current administration鈥攁t least 54 so far鈥攖han previous ones.
During the late President Benigno Aquino III鈥檚 term, NUPL said 21 lawyers were slain, while 45 were killed during former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo鈥檚 term.
Under ex-President Joseph Estrada鈥檚 short-lived term, only one lawyer was documented to be fatally attacked.
From 2011 to April 2021, the lawyers鈥� group has recorded a total of 176 attacks and 73 deaths.
Graphic by Ed Lustan
Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) in July said the number of slain lawyers rose by 500 percent since the start of President Rodrigo Duterte鈥檚 term in 2016.
In a statement expressing alarm over attacks on lawyers, IBP said the government must enforce measures 鈥渢o improve the security of lawyers, judges and prosecutors鈥� and resolve with urgency the cases of killing of lawyers to hold perpetrators accountable.
READ: Number of lawyers killed since 2016 soared 500% 鈥� IBP
Just last August, veteran lawyer Rex Jose Mario Fernandez鈥攚ho was a founding member of NUPL in 2007 and part of human rights group Karapatan鈥攚as shot and killed by an unidentified assailant in Cebu City.
The killing prompted NUPL to describe the country鈥檚 lawyers as 鈥渟itting ducks鈥� for harassment, violence and assassinations.
鈥淣o words, indeed. Another colleague has fallen with his boots on. We had lost count. It has not stopped and every lawyer is a sitting duck,鈥� said NUPL president Edre Olalia in a statement.