Thread by @rapplerdotcom

What's the outlook for the human rights situation in the Philippines in 2022?

In this episode of ‘On The Campaign Trail,’ veteran journalist @jnery_newsstand sits down with Human Rights Watch’s @condeHRW and CHR executive director Jacqueline de Guia:

@jnery_newsstand @condeHRW Is human rights an election issue in 2022?

De Guia: It is, and it should be an election issue. We've seen in the past years how human rights permeated every aspect of our lives.

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@jnery_newsstand @condeHRW De Guia cites widespread human rights issues such as extrajudicial killings, emphasizing the importance of upholding human rights in the lead-up to 2022 and beyond.

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@jnery_newsstand @condeHRW .@condeHRW says among the 2022 presidential aspirants, only Vice President Leni Robredo and Ka Leody de Guzman have been consistent in condemning human rights abuses.

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@jnery_newsstand @condeHRW .@condeHRW hopes Robredo and Ka Leody will prioritize human rights among other issues in their 2022 campaigns.

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@jnery_newsstand @condeHRW De Guia says the late Chito Gascon, who served as CHR chair, wanted Philippine leaders to "walk the talk" in championing human rights.

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@jnery_newsstand @condeHRW .@condeHRW says other presidential aspirants have not been vocal about their positions on human rights. He highlights how some of these presidential aspirants were previously supporters of the President.

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@jnery_newsstand @condeHRW .@condeHRW says many senatorial aspirants like Diokno, Colmenares, Labog will be able to highlight human rights issues in their campaigns.

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@jnery_newsstand @condeHRW .@condeHRW: The thing here is human rights in the PH since 2015/2016 has been set back in ways we've never seen, not even in the Marcos dictatorship, in terms of the tone.

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@jnery_newsstand @condeHRW .@condeHRW: The PH has suffered so much under [President Duterte] in the past 5 years. It's a time of reckoning for a lot of these people.

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@jnery_newsstand @condeHRW De Guia says CHR aims to "impress upon the public" that human rights play a "critical role" in everyday life, and that good governance is vital in upholding human rights.

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@jnery_newsstand @condeHRW De Guia: [The public] should make sure candidates deliver on those promises, because these will affect our everyday lives and human rights for the next 7 years.

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@jnery_newsstand @condeHRW .@condeHRW on Bongbong Marcos: What has he done for the victims of the Marcos dictatorship? Has he denounced these well-documented abuses?

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@jnery_newsstand @condeHRW .@condeHRW: He keeps saying he's not his father, all the abuses attributed to Ferdinand Marcos Sr. should not be attributed to him.

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@jnery_newsstand @condeHRW .@condeHRW: Other candidates, like Manny Pacquiao, supporting Duterte and making public comments against LGBTQ+ people, and Panfilo Lacson during his police chief days had trouble with human rights issues.

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@jnery_newsstand @condeHRW .@condeHRW: And of course, Bong Go himself, [Rappler] reported his role in the Davao Death Squad. Ex-general Parlade has been red-tagging, committing abuses of the rights of activists by lumping them with combatants.

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@jnery_newsstand @condeHRW .@condeHRW says these "problematic candidates" should be held to account when it comes to their stances on human rights.

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@jnery_newsstand @condeHRW How should we understand enablers vs executors of human rights abuses?

@condeHRW: When you see gross human rights violations, doing nothing means you are condoning or even supporting these violations of human rights.

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@jnery_newsstand @condeHRW .@condeHRW: Being a politician, a public official, it's your duty to speak out against human rights abuses. If you don't, at the very least, that makes you an enabler.

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@jnery_newsstand @condeHRW De Guia on CHR's work: We package human rights in a positive, simple way that will be understood by the people.... We also made sure our social media presence was felt, and we want to make sure we are engaging with the audience.

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@jnery_newsstand @condeHRW De Guia: We wanted to be more inclusive.... We wanted to have a healthy balance, we spoke truth to power, and at the same time, the positive things that were happening were also highlighted.

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@jnery_newsstand @condeHRW .@condeHRW: I think [journalists] have risen to the challenge in covering human rights issues.... If there's any one issue [that dominated] the past 6 years, it's human rights.

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@jnery_newsstand @condeHRW .@condeHRW: A lot needs to be done in human rights reporting in the Philippines, but I think we've become better at it.

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@jnery_newsstand @condeHRW What are the potential human rights abuses we need to monitor in the lead-up to the elections?

@condeHRW talks about the misuse of the internet when it comes to disinformation and data privacy.

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@jnery_newsstand @condeHRW De Guia discusses recent election-related killings.

De Guia: This worries us, because the election season has just begun, and we hope there will be no more killings that will continue.

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@jnery_newsstand @condeHRW De Guia: We did see how powerful social media has become in the past few years, and we're afraid it's going to be taken advantage of. It's important for the public to have access to accurate information to make informed decisions.

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@jnery_newsstand @condeHRW That's a wRap! Watch the full episode of ‘On The Campaign Trail’ here:

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