HUMAN RIGHTS | Philippines’ human rights situation still ‘dire’ in 2023

HUMAN RIGHTS | Philippines’ human rights situation still ‘dire’ in 2023 – rights group

January 12, 2024 , 06:44 PM

By Clarist Zablan

(January 12, 2024) – The human rights situation in the Philippines was still “dire” in 2023 even as President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. took a “measured” rhetoric on the issue, a New York-based rights organization said in an annual report on Thursday night (Philippine time).

In Human Rights Watch’s (HRW) “World Report 2024,” the organizations said enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings – both in connection to the government’s anti-drug and anti-insurgency campaigns – continued to be a problem even under the Marcos administration.

“The human rights situation in the Philippines remains dire amid extrajudicial killings, attacks against political activists and journalists, and abuses committed during the armed conflict with the 54-year-old communist insurgency,” HRW’s report said.

“The government has increasingly constricted democratic space by using the justice system to target leftist activist groups.”

HRW said the “drug war” under former president Rodrigo Duterte has not stopped under the Marcos administration – drug war-related killings during Marcos’ term were estimated at 471 as of November 15, the group said, citing data from the University of the Philippines Third World Studies Center.

This was relatively lower than the drug war killings reported under the Duterte administration, when at least 6,000 were killed in anti-drug operations from July 2016 to May 2022 based on police figures. This translated to an average of more than 1,000 every year.

However, insurgency-related killings “noticeably worsened,” particularly in the island of Negros that has been a hotbed of the communist insurgency, the group said.

The report also noted the continuing incidents of “red-tagging” by authorities, government supporters, and pro-government media, which involved accusing activists, journalists, and other civil society actors of links to the Maoist-led rebellion.

“Getting red-tagged is often a prelude to physical attack, raising fears among activists and constricting democratic space,” the report said. “Government actors have red-tagged activists, unionists, environment defenders, Indigenous leaders, teachers, students, and journalists.”

But the year was not without good news, HRW said, noting the release of former senator Leila de Lima after more than six years of detention. De Lima, a staunch critic of Duterte’s drug war policy, has been facing drug-related charges that she claimed were fabricated to intimidate her.

In the same year, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Rappler chief executive officer Maria Ressa was also acquitted of tax evasion charges.

Human rights groups have voiced concerns on what they described as a deterioration of the human rights situation in the Philippines under the Duterte administration, whose anti-drug policy and anti-insurgency campaign has led to killings estimated to have reached thousands.

The killings, particularly under his bloody and brutal drug war policy, prompted the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor to open an inquiry into the issue.

Marcos, who has voiced commitment to human rights in past pronouncements, has refused to cooperate with the ICC inquiry, questioning the Hague-based tribunal’s jurisdiction.

Privacy Statement

Our Privacy Commitment

TV5 Network Inc. values and respects your privacy. We are committed to safeguarding your personal data in compliance with Republic Act No. 10173 or the Data Privacy Act of 2012 and its implementing rules and regulations.

We have developed a Privacy Policy that adopts and observes appropriate standards for personal data protection. While our Privacy Policy sets out the general principles governing the collection, use, and disclosure of our users’ personal information, our Privacy Commitment seeks to inform you more about TV5’s privacy practices.

Why do we collect your personal information (as applicable)?

We may collect and maintain basic information about you as site user of TV5 sites for the following purposes:

To deliver news and updates on current events, sports, esports and entertainment;
To share livestreams of news and sports events;
To understand our viewers’ needs and preferences;
To meet legal and regulatory requirements; and
To perform other processes or disclosures that are required to comply with pertinent laws, rules, or regulations.

Where do we get your personal information?

There are several ways we collect your personal information.

Information that you personally provided.

Most of the personal information we have are those that you have provided us when you:
- Register to our programs or services;
- Inquired, filed a complaint or requested for our services;
- Took part in our research and surveys; and/or
- Became our Partner, Vendor, Contractor or Supplier.

Information we collect during your engagement with us

We also collect information as you use our products and services, like:
- Viewing our websites;
- Activities that are being tracked by our website cookies;
- Calling our hotline;
- Using our apps, websites, and self-service channels and portals; and/or
- Joining our promos, prize raffles, or rewards and loyalty programs.

Information we collect from other sources

Other means of collection of information may be through:
- Our market research initiatives;
- When you visit and use our websites and mobile application; and
- Subsidiaries, affiliates, and third-party business partners to whom you have given consent to share your information to us.

When do we disclose personal information?

There may be instances when we are required to share the information you provided us. In such cases, we ensure that your personal information will be disclosed on a confidential manner, through secure channels and in compliance with the Data Privacy Act and other privacy laws.

We will never share, rent, or sell your personal information to third parties outside of TV5 except in special cases where you have given consent, and in cases described in our privacy policy.

In some instances, we may be required to disclose your personal information to our agents, subsidiaries, affiliates, business partners and other third-party agencies and service providers as part of our regular business operations and for the provision of our programs and services. This means we might share your information with our service providers, contractors, and professional advisers who help us provide our services.

How we protect your personal information

The integrity, confidentiality, and security of your information is important to us. We have implemented technical, organizational, and physical security measures that are designed to protect your information from unauthorized or fraudulent access, alteration, disclosure, misuse, and other unlawful activities.

We also put in effect the following safeguards:

We keep and protect your information using a secured server behind a firewall, encryption and security controls;
We keep your information only for as long as it is necessary for us to (a) provide the products and services that you avail from us, (b) for our legitimate business purposes, (c) to comply with pertinent laws, and (d) for special cases that will require the exercise or defense of legal claims;
We limit the access to your information only to qualified and authorized personnel who are trained to handle your information with strict confidentiality;
We undergo regular audits and rigorous testing of our infrastructure’s security protocols to ensure your data is always protected;
We promptly notify you and the National Privacy Commission when sensitive personal information that may, under the circumstances, be used to enable identity fraud are reasonably believed to have been acquired by an unauthorized person; and
We let you update your information securely to keep our records accurate.

TV5 will not collect, use, or disclose your personal information for any purpose other than the purpose that you may have given your consent for.

What are your choices?

We make sure that we have your consent to continue to collect, use, and disclose your personal information for the purposes that we have identified. We want you to know that you may object or withdraw your consent and/or edit your consent preferences at any time.

If you wish to have access to the personal information in our custody or if you think that the personal information you provided is incomplete, or otherwise inaccurate, you may get in touch with our Data Protection Officer through the contact details provided below. In some instances, we may request for supporting documents or proof before we effect requested changes.

Data Protection Officer
TV5 Network Inc.
Reliance corner Sheridan Streets
Mandaluyong City
tv5dataprivacy@tv5.com.ph

What happens when there are changes in our Policy?

From time to time, we may update our privacy policy and practices to comply with changes in applicable laws and regulatory requirements, adapt to new technologies and protocols, and align with the best practices of the industry.

You will be provided notices if the changes are significant and, if we are required by law, we will obtain your updated consent.