The Philippine Human Rights Situation: Threats & Challenges

By:

Dr. Nymia Pimentel Simbulan

Executive Director
Philippine Human Rights Information Center (PHILRIGHTS)

Introduction

Case 1: Gafhar Mundi was an ordinary student in Isabela, Basilan in Mindanao prior to his arrest
and detention at the Camp Bicutan Detention Center in Bicutan, Metro Manila, on suspicion that
he was a member of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG). The ASG is an armed group based in Muslim
Mindanao which has been actively engaged in kidnap for ransom activities.

Today, Gafhar Mundi at age 23 is dead. He was one of the 25 Muslims killed during the Camp
Bicutan siege last March 14-15, 2005.

The case of Gafhar Mundi clearly illustrates the state of human rights in the country under the
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA) government which has been committed in the fight against
terrorism.

Gafhar Mundi, a resident of Tabuk, Isabela, Basilan and a minor (He turned 18 in prison.) at the
time of his arrest, just finished saying his prayers at the mosque when he was arrested by the
military on March 2000 in Basilan. He was hog-tied and brought to the detachment of the Scout
Rangers, after which he was brought to the headquarters of the 103rd Brigade. While under the
custody of the 103rd Brigade, he was made to sign a waiver, his finger and palm prints and his
picture taken. After going through the routine, his ordeal in the hands of the military began. He
was tortured while undergoing interrogation, forcing him to admit membership in the ASG.
Denying his involvement with the ASG, Gafhar was kicked, hit with a rifle butt and poked a gun
on his head. Hot pepper was applied in various parts of his body causing him pain. Not satisfied
with the inhuman treatment on Gafhar, his military torturers nailed him and broke his fingers
using pliers. One time, gasoline was doused on his right shoulder up to his chest. He was tortured
for three days.

At the time of his death, Gafhar was still undergoing trial and has not been proven guilty for the
crime he was charged, i.e. being a member of the ASG. However, with how the detainees at
Camp Bicutan were treated and projected in the mass media during the siege, Gafhar and the rest
of the 24 detainees killed during the incident have already been judged guilty and sentenced to
death by State agents.

Case 2: Ibrahim Joe, 25 years old and a resident of Isabela, Basilan, suffered the same fate as
Gafhar Mundi. He was one of the Muslim detainees killed by law enforcement agencies and the
military during the Camp Bicutan siege last March 14-15, 2005.
At 5:30 a.m. of July 15, 2001, Ibrahim Joe was awakened by members of the Philippine Marines
with their armalite rifles poked on his head. He was brought to the headquarters of the 103rd
Brigade where his finger and palm prints and his picture were taken. Thereafter, he was tortured
and forced to admit being a member of the ASG.

Like Gafhar, Ibrahim was still undergoing trial and had not been convicted by the Philippine
court trying his case at the time the Camp Bicutan siege took place. However, with how he was
treated during the siege, state agents have already found him guilty and sentenced to death even
before the handing down of the court’s decision on his case.

Gafhar Mundi and Ibrahim Joe, like millions of Muslim Filipinos, have lived under an
environment of violence and discrimination. During their arrest and detention, they experienced
torture in the hands of the military. And now that they are dead, Mundi and Joe have again
experienced the iron fist of the state by the manner through which the Camp Bagong Diwa
incident had been resolved by law enforcement agencies, i.e. the massive use of force, inhuman
treatment and punishment.

The cases of Gafhar Mundi and Ibrahim Joe illustrate the state of human rights in the Philippines
and the intensifying problems and difficulties of the Filipino people in the exercise and defense
of their rights as individuals and as a collective.

************

The changing economic and political landscape towards the end of the 20th century has posed
new threats and challenges to the human rights of the Filipino people. Globalization and the war
against terror have created conditions and provided justifications for governments worldwide to
adapt national policies and programs resulting to their non-compliance to and abandonment of
their human rights obligations. In the name of global competitiveness, states have pursued the
liberalization of agricultural products, privatization of public utilities and social services like
water, transportation and health, freezing of workers’ wages, reduction of national allocation for
basic social services like health, education, housing, and the imposition of new taxes.

Meanwhile, in the name of national security and public safety, governments have passed anti-
terrorism laws, pushed for the institutionalization of a national identification (ID) system,
conducted illegal and arbitrary arrest, search and seizure activities, and authorized the use of
torture on suspected terrorists.

All these state actions have resulted to the curtailment of people’s civil and political rights and
freedoms, and the violations of their economic, social and cultural rights.

Like its predecessors, Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has not had any clear-cut human rights
program from the very start she assumed power. What is stark clear is the GMA government’s
unflagging commitment and its all-out support to globalization and the US-led war against terror

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as manifested in its priorities, policies and pronouncements. Trade liberalization, payment of the
country’s huge external debt, privatization of government owned and controlled corporations and
facilities, concessions to the military and the employment of militarist strategies in the handling
of the Moro problem, have dominated the concerns of the GMA administration.

Consequently, human rights violations continue to be unabated in the Philippines with the
members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)
remaining as the top human rights violators in the country. Human rights violations cover the
whole range of the people’s rights ---- civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights.

Political and Civil Rights Violations: A Persistent Reality

Political Arrest and Detention

The state of civil and political rights under the GMA administration is reminiscent of the martial
law years under former Pres. Ferdinand E. Marcos. Human rights violations like illegal arrest
and detention, extrajudicial executions, disappearances, excessive use of violence, trumped up or
fabricated charges, criminalization of political offenses, torture and other forms of inhuman
treatment and punishment, of suspected criminal elements and those considered as “enemies of
the state”, have never disappeared from the political realm of the Philippines.

According to the Task Force Detainees of the Philippines, as of the December 31, 2004, a total of
225 political prisoners/detainees continue to languish in 55 detention centers and prisons
throughout the country. In terms of geographical distribution, 96 of the political
prisoners/detainees are in Luzon, 59 are in the Visayas and 70 are in Mindanao. Included in the
225 are prisoners/detainees belonging to vulnerable sectors like the elderly (7), women (6),
children (8), the sickly (7) and Muslims (49).

Majority of the political prisoners has been languishing in jail/prison under subhuman conditions
for more than a decade. Many of them have no prospect of immediate release despite the
ongoing peace negotiations between the Philippine government and the National Democratic
Front & Communist Party of the Philippines.

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 Political Prisoners/Detainees Update
TFDP, December 31, 2004

Total number of political prisoners/detainees …………. 225

Total number of detention centers …………………….. 55

Luzon ………………………………………………….. 96
Visayas ………………………………………………... 59
Mindanao …………………………………………….... 70

Vulnerable political prisoners/detainees:

Elderly (70 years and above) …………………………. 7
Women ……………………………………………….. 6
Minor …………………………………………………. 8
Sickly ………………………………………………... 9
Muslim ………………………………………………. 49
Tortured ……………………………………………… 15
Political prisoners on death row ……………………… 6

Death Penalty: A Violation of the Individual’s Right to Life

Way back in 1987, the Philippine government took a historic step in protecting the people’s right
to life by abolishing the death penalty with the ratification of the 1987 Philippine Constitution
[Article 3, section 19(1)] and becoming the first Asian country to do so. However, 7 years after
due to the clamor of certain sections of the population, the death penalty was reimposed on
January 1994 by virtue of the passage of RA 7659 (An Act to Impose the Death Penalty on
Certain Heinous Crimes, Amending for that Purpose the Revised Penal Code as Amended, Other
Special Penal Law, and for other Purposes) by the Philippine Congress.

Under RA 7659, 46 crimes considered heinous are eligible for the death sentence although 25 of
these crimes are labeled “mandatory death offenses”, meaning anyone who is charged and found
guilty for any of the 25 crimes will surely be meted out with the death sentence. Crimes
classified under “mandatory death sentence” include qualified robbery, 11 types of rape, 12 types
of crimes related to illegal drugs, and 2 types of kidnapping, and destructive arson.

As of January 5, 2005, 1,081 Filipinos (1,051 males and 30 females) are on death row, and most
of them come from poor families who did not have the resources to get the services of competent
lawyers during their defense, if ever there was one. One of the 30 women on death row is an 83
year old woman convicted for drug trafficking. At the time of her conviction, the old woman was
more 70 years old which means she should not have been sentenced to death but given the next
lower sentence of reclusion perpetua or life imprisonment in accordance with a provision of RA
7659.

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Meanwhile, as of the end of 2004, the Philippine Action for Youth Offenders reported 21
children have been meted out the death sentence. Fourteen of them are together with the adult
death row inmates at the state penitentiary for males in Muntinglupa while 6 are imprisoned at
Camp Sampaguita. There is one female minor who is staying at the Correctional Institute for
Women. The presence of the 21 children on death row is clearly a violation of the death penalty
law.

Rape (44%), murder (20%) and kidnapping (17%) are the top three crimes for which the death
row inmates have been convicted.

Profile of Death Row Convicts, Philippines, January 2005

Age Male Female Total

No. %
18 years & below 2 0 2 .2
19-21 years 32 0 32 3.0
22-39 years 544 21 565 52.3
40-59 years 376 8 384 35.5
60 years & above 25 1 26 2.4
Unknown 72 0 72 6.6
Total 1,051 30 1,081 100.0

The continued imposition of the death penalty by lethal injection has resulted to a very disturbing
development. Since 2004, six (6) political prisoners have been meted out with a death penalty
sentence, a consequence of the criminalization of political offences which became rampant
starting the Cory Aquino government and persisted up to the present in the treatment of political
offenders. To deny the existence of political prisoners/detainees or individuals arrested and
imprisoned because of their political beliefs and activism, the State through the police and the
AFP have been filing criminal charges like murder, illegal possession of firearms, arson,
kidnapping, robbery, etc. instead of political crimes like rebellion, sedition and insurrection
against alleged members and leaders of the CPP-NPA-NDF, Moro Islamic Liberation Front
(MILF) and other rebel groups in the country. This political maneuver of the State has made
political offenders not only vulnerable to being given the death penalty sentence like what
happened to the 6 political prisoners but has also made it doubly hard for them to be released on
bail and defend themselves in court.

Although no death row convict has been executed under the GMA administration, the likelihood
that executions will take place in the near future is high because of the presence of a death
penalty law. Besides, the inability of the present government to withstand political pressure
especially if this comes from highly influential groups in society has been exposed during the
last quarter of 2003. To appease the Filipino-Chinese business community which has been
victimized by a series of kidnapping for ransom activities in 2003, Pres. Arroyo lifted the
moratorium on the death penalty and ordered the resumption of executions particularly of
kidnappers on death row. It was difficult for the president to ignore the clamor of this very

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powerful economic and political block considering that 2004 presidential election was fast
approaching and the support of this sector in Philippine society was critical in her bid for the
presidency in the May 2004 election.

The State’s position to maintain the death penalty in the country’s jurisprudence is unmistakably
a violation of the fundamental right to life of every Filipino citizen. Contrary to claims of the
State and supporters of death penalty, the law, which has primarily affected the impoverished
and marginalized sections of the population, has not been an effective deterrent to crime in
society as shown in crime statistics particularly for heinous crimes like murder, rape and
kidnapping. As anti-death penalty advocates in the country argue, the most effective deterrent to
the commission of crimes in any society lies not in the gravity of the punishment but in the
guarantee that offenders or criminals are quickly and properly apprehended, brought to trial and
punished.

Extrajudicial Executions and Disappearances

Under the Arroyo government, the Philippines has started to gain the reputation of being the
summary execution capital of the world with the increasing number of unsolved cases of
summary killings in various parts of the country. Three groups have often been the targets and
victims of the series of summary executions in the Philippines: journalists, small-time criminal
elements like petty thieves and cell phone snatchers, and members of militant organizations and
political parties.

The attack on the right to information and freedom of expression has been evident with the series
of killings of journalists earning for the country to be identified by the Paris-based Reporters
Sans Frontieres (Reporters without Borders or RSF) as one of the most dangerous places for
journalists to practice their profession. Also, recently, the Committee to Protect Journalists
(CPJ), a New York-based NGO dedicated to the defense of press freedom worldwide, labeled the
Philippines as “the most murderous country for journalists”, followed by Iraq, Colombia,
Bangladesh and Russia.

Since 1986 after the overthrow of the Marcos dictatorship, a total of 66 Filipino journalists in the
line of duty were summarily executed. Seventeen (17) journalists were killed during the Aquino
administration, 14 under the Ramos, 5 during the unfinished term of deposed Pres. Estrada and
30 since the start of Pres. Arroyo’s rule in 2001. In 2004 alone, a total of 13 journalists have been
assassinated while 3 have been murdered during the first quarter of 2005. During the first quarter
of 2005, three journalists have already been killed. The most recent to be included in the long
lists of journalist killed in the line of duty is Klein Cantoneros, a broadcaster of a local radio
station DXAA in Dipolog City, Misamis Occidental in Mindanao.

Except for 8 cases which occurred in Metro Manila, the killings of journalists predominantly
took place in the provinces.

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 Number of Journalists Killed, Philippines, 1986-May 2005

Period No. of Cases

Corazon C. Aquino (Feb 1986-June 1992) 17
Fidel V. Ramos (July 1992-June 1998) 14
Joseph E. Estrada (July 1998-January 2001) 5
Gloria M. Arroyo (January 2001 – June 2004) 15
Gloria M. Arroyo (July 2004- present) 15
Total 66
Source: TFDP

The series of killings of journalists have compelled the Brussels-based International Federation
of Journalists (IFJ) together with the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) to
conduct a fact-finding mission late last 2004. The IFJ stated that: When such a culture (of
violence) is allowed to flourish at an official level, it is little wonder that aggrieved local
strongmen or political figures turn to hitmen to get even with media.

It is important to note that at the time of their death, most of these journalists have been vigilant
in reporting or exposing cases of corruption, abuse of authority, drug-trafficking, organized
crime, smuggling, etc. which oftentimes involved local government officials, military and police
officers. Thus, the basis for the statement made by the IFJ since most of the journalists murdered
seriously endangered the economic and political interests of powerful and highly influential
persons in society with their exposes.

What further aggravates the situation is the persistence of a culture of impunity and the seeming
indifference of the government that allows the murderers to go scot-free. Since 1986, not a single
perpetrator of these killings had been apprehended and convicted for killing a journalist.

Besides journalists, members and leaders of militant groups and political parties have also been
the targets of summary executions. For 2004, the TFDP documented 7 cases of these cases
involving 8 victims. Included in the list are two (2) members of the party list Bayan Muna in
Mindoro, namely, Vice-Mayor Atty. Juvy Magsino and Bayan Muna Coordinator Leima Fortu.

On August 24, 2004, Rashid “Jun” Manahan, the Davao coordinator of Mamamayang Tutol sa
Bitay (Citizens Against the Death Penalty)-Movement for Restorative Justice (MTB-MRJ), a
broad network of anti-death penalty advocates, was gunned down in broad daylight at the Ponce
Suites, Davao City. Mr. Manahan together with two human rights defenders and a member of the
European Commission were about to proceed to a human rights forum organized by Manahan
himself on the death penalty and summary executions, when the incident took place. A gunman
without any cover on his face casually approached Rashid and fired 4 shots from a .45 caliber
pistol, all hitting the victim’s upper body.

Extrajudicial killings or summary executions have become commonplace in Davao City with
street children, youth gang members from urban poor communities, suspected small-time
criminal elements such as petty thieves, cellphone snatchers, illegal drug peddlers, as the usual

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victims. In this city alone, more than 320 people suspected of petty crimes have reportedly been
killed since 1998.

The Davao City-based NGO Coalition Against Summary Execution (CASE) was able to compile
247 cases of summary execution in the city from August 1, 1998 to June 30, 2004.

Number of Victims of Summary Executions, 1998-2004, Davao City

Year Male Female Total

1998 2 - 2
1999 14 2 16
2000 11 - 11
2001 27 2 29
2002 56 3 59
2003 92 6 98
2004 31 1 32
Total 233 14 247
Source: CASE Report on summary executions, 2004

The seeming indifference on the part of local government and police officials on the series of
killings taking place in the city have caused local human rights NGOs to suspect the approval
and involvement of the former in the use of summary executions as an effective method of
combating crime. Up to now, no perpetrator has been apprehended and brought to trial. The
families and loved ones of those killed are still waiting for justice. This includes a mother whose
three teenage sons, the youngest of whom was 14 years of age, were summarily executed. The
youngest son, Bobby Alia, was accused of theft and possession of a knife.

Perpetrators of the series of killings have been attributed to local vigilante groups tagged as the
“Davao Death Squads” (DDS), judging from the manner by which the killings have been
executed. Witnesses to the killings report that the gunmen with no masks covering their faces are
usually on board motorcycles.

Furthermore, pronouncements made by the local chief executive of Davao City, Mayor Rodrigo
Duterte, indicate his support for this inhuman way of dealing with criminal elements. In a 2004
election rally, Mayor Duterte was reported to have told a crowd:

If I win, more criminals will get killed because I have vowed to

protect the people of the city….. I’ve been telling criminals it’s a place
where you can die any time. It that’s a cue for anybody, that’s fine.

In a radio interview, Mayor Duterte stated that in his city, there are no human rights for criminal
elements and dared human rights advocates to charge him formally in court.

The phenomenon of extrajudicial killing as a means of curbing criminality and maintaining

peace and order has likewise been used in Cebu City, another key city in the Philippines. During

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the last week of December 2004, five (5) suspected criminals were shot dead in various parts of
Cebu City. These events took place after Mayor Tomas Osmeña announced his plan to create a
team that will “seek and destroy” criminal elements operating in the city. The team which has
been referred to in the local media as Osmena’s “Hunter Team” will be composed of 16
sharpshooters from the Cebu City police force. As an incentive, a policeman on-duty who is able
to capture a person committing a crime will be given Php 20,000 (about US$372.00 or 285
Euros) while for those who are not on-duty will receive half of the promised amount.

Undeniably, these developments in both cities of Cebu and Davao have serious human rights
implications, especially since those victimized are children, adolescents and young adults who
belong to poor families. Most of those killed have not been given a day in court and up to this
day justice has not been served.

Aside from summary executions, involuntary disappearance is another human rights violation
which has persisted in the country. Since the time Pres. GMA assumed power in 2001 up to
December 2004, the Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearances (FIND), a human rights
NGO, recorded a total of 31 cases involving 78 victims of involuntary disappearance in various
parts of the country. All 78 victims were affiliated with either militant groups or political parties
like Bayan Muna and Alab Katipunan or suspected members and/or sympathizers of non-state
armed opposition groups like the NPA and the MILF.

Number of Cases & Victims of Involuntary Disappearance, Philippines,

February 2001- December 2004

Year No. of cases No. of victims

2001 6 10
2002 4 5
2003 9 33
2004 12 30
Total 31 78
Source: FIND Report on Involuntary Disappearance, 2005

The National ID System

Like other world leaders aligned with the “Coalition of the Willing” led by the US, the GMA
government has recently issued EO 420 euphemistically called “a multi-purpose ID system”
instead of the negatively perceived National ID System. The presidential directive is part of a
package of anti-terrorism measures together with several anti-terror bills filed in the Philippine
Congress that has been taken by the current dispensation.

Although the imposition of the ID system had been justified as a measure to facilitate business
transactions with government offices, there are apprehensions on the part of human rights NGOs
that this will be used to violate the human rights particularly of individuals, groups and political
parties critical of government programs and policies. By the very nature of the system it is a part
of, i.e. corrupt and abusive, there is a high probability that the multi-purpose ID system will be
used by State agents to gather information and build up dossiers against those labeled “terrorists”

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and “enemies of the state”. Moreover, the ID system can be used as a tool to ban legitimate
dissent and to control movements of individuals.

The Erosion of the People’s Economic, Social & Cultural Rights

The Right to Work and Decent Wages

Employment and income are two critical factors for people to be able to satisfy their basic needs
and for them to be able to live decently like human beings. The table below gives you an idea of
the state of the people’s economic and social rights based on the minimum wage they are
receiving, if ever the said amount is complied with by employers, and the living wage, i.e., the
amount pegged by the National Wages and Productivity Commission for a family of six to be
able to meet the essential requirements for human existence. As shown in the table below, there
is a big gap between the minimum and living wages. For instance, in Metro Manila, the daily
wage that an ordinary factory worker receives is Php300 or Php363 short of the living wage. The
situation is even worse in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) since the gap
between the minimum wage pegged at Php170 and the living wage set at Php824 is a staggering
Php654 or almost 500% difference (National Wages & Productivity Commission, March 2005).

MINIMUM AND LIVING WAGES IN PESOS

(as of March 2005)

Region Minimum Wage Living Wage

Metro Manila 300.00 = 4.30 Euros 663.00 = 9.50 Euros
CAR 205.00 = 2.93 645.00 = 9.21
Region I 200.00 = 2.86 618.00 = 8.83
Region II 193.00 = 2.76 553.00 = 7.90
Region III 243.50 = 3.48 582.00 = 8.31
Region IV-A 255.00 = 3.64 587.00 *= 8.38
Region IV-B 196.00 = 2.80 587.00 *= 8.38
Region V 194.00 = 2.77 563.00 = 8.04
Region VI 190.00 = 2.71 497.00 = 7.10
Region VII 208.00 = 2.97 638.00 = 9.11
Region VIII 195.00 = 2.78 419.00 = 5.98
Region IX 180.00 = 2.57 578.00 = 8.26
Region X 202.00 = 2.88 554.00 = 7.91
Region XI 209.00 = 2.98 551.00 = 7.87
Region XII 200.00 = 2.86 538.00 = 7.68
CARAGA 189.00 = 2.70
ARMM 170.00 = 2.43 Euros 824.00 =11.80 Euros
* Amount is for the whole of Region IV
Source: National Wages & Productivity Commission

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Unemployment and low and unstable incomes are two of the major problems which have
resulted to the perpetuation of poverty and gross violations of the people’s economic, social and
cultural rights, especially the rights to food, water, housing, health and education.
As of the end of October 2004, the unemployment rate of the country was 10.9%, a slight
improvement from the 11.7% rate of July 2004 (National Statistics Office, 2005). During this
period (October 2004), the National Capital Region (NCR) registered the highest unemployment
rate at 12.2%, followed by Central Luzon at 9.4% (Philippine Labor Force Survey, October
2004) (http://www.census.gov.ph/data/pressrelease/2004/lf040tx.html).

The lack of good paying jobs has served as a major push factor for the flight of millions of
Filipinos abroad. It is estimated that there are about 7-8 million Filipinos working in different
parts of the globe mostly as domestic helpers, entertainers, professionals, construction workers
and seafarers.

Concomitant with unemployment is the problem of mass poverty. According to the National
Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), as of 2001, 34% or 25.8 million Filipinos were
living below the poverty threshold.

Right to Food and Right to Health

In urban and rural poor communities, malnutrition continues to affect a significant portion of
Filipino children and youth having detrimental consequences on their intellectual and productive
capabilities. The subhuman existence of many Filipino families is further illustrated by their
inability to eat breakfast every morning. According to the Commission on Population, about 15.3
million Filipinos start their day without any breakfast on the table (Sarmiento, 2001, p. 1).

If ever they are able to eat, this would constitute food of low nutritional quality like instant
noodles and other forms of junk food due to their high salt, sugar and fat contents. The rising
costs of basic goods and services have resulted to these food items gradually becoming the staple
food of poor Filipino families, next to rice. A single pack of instant noodle costing Php 5.00 a
pack (.07 Euros) plus rice, can feed a family of 5-6 members. Thus, it is not surprising that based
on the 2003 Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) Report on the Nutritional Status of
Filipinos, for every 100 preschoolers, 32 are anemic, 30 under height, 28 underweight and 1 is
overweight; and for every 100 young school children, 41 are under height, 33 underweight and 1
is overweight.

Furthermore, the 2003 FNRI Report revealed that among pregnant and lactating women, 40 in
every 100 are anemic.

The government’s failure to create jobs for its labor force and ensure decent wages to its workers
resulting to the inability of the latter to buy enough quality food on the table, has likewise made
the population more vulnerable to all kinds of communicable but preventable diseases. A classic
example is tuberculosis (TB) which continues to be the 6th leading cause of mortality and
morbidity in the Philippines affecting the productive age group, 25-49 years, despite decades of
implementation of a National TB Control Programme. It is estimated that 75 Filipinos die of TB
daily, making the Philippines the 8th among 22 countries with the highest TB burden (National

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Statistics Office, 2003)

Diarrhea, a filth-related disease, has consistently been the number 1 leading cause of morbidity
especially among infants and children, an indication of the people’s inability to access and afford
basic social services particularly safe drinking water, proper waste disposal and sanitation
systems, and decent housing. As of 2000, about 24% of households throughout the country still
do not have access to safe water supply, while 31% of households nationwide do not have
sanitary toilets. Among the regions, the ARMM has the highest percentage of households with
no access to water supply at 38% and with no sanitary toilet at 57%
(http://www.doh.gov.ph/data_stat/html/fhsis_environment.htm) as derived from the Field Health
Service Information System, National Epidemiology Center).

The government’s negligence to make clean water available and accessible to the local
population can be demonstrated with the outbreak of cholera and gastroenteritis in a number of
northern Luzon provinces last year (2004).

Based on an article in the Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI Northern Luzon Bureau, January 5,
2005, A15), in the Ilocos region alone, from May – September 2004, 13,682 people were
afflicted with acute gastroenteritis and 619 with cholera, both water-borne diseases. The province
of Pangasinan was the hardest hit by the epidemic with 8,819 cases of acute gastroenteritis and
464 individuals afflicted with cholera.

The people’s access to quality and affordable health care services has not been that encouraging,
too, during the past years especially with the implementation of neoliberal policies and programs
by the Arroyo government and manifested in the privatization or “corporatization” of public
health facilities and services.

According the 2003 National Demographic and Health Survey, 77% of mothers with children
under-5 said they encounter problems in accessing health care when they are sick and 67%
shared this was primarily due to lack of money for treatment. Other related problems cited by the
respondents were not wanting to go alone (28%), distance of the health facility (27%) and having
to commute to go to the health center (26%).

Poverty and lack of education of mothers have been identified as major factors for the high infant
and under-5 mortality rates of the Philippines which are among the highest in Southeast Asia. As
revealed in the 2003 National Demographic and Health Survey, for every 1,000 births, 29
children will die before reaching their first birthday (infant mortality rate) and 40 will die before
reaching the age of 5 (under-5 mortality rate).

Infant mortality rate & under-5 mortality rate, Philippines, 1993-2003

Survey Year IMR Under-5 Mortality Rate

Deaths per 1,000 Live Births
1993 34 54
1998 35 48
2003 29 40

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 Source: 2003 National Demographic and Health Survey

Although there has been a decline in both the infant and under-5 mortality rates from 1993-2003,
the change has not been that significant.

The rising costs of health goods and services have made it more difficult for poor families to go
see a doctor, even in public health facilities because more often than not, they will be given
prescriptions for drugs or medicines needed for their treatment. Despite the passage of the
Generics Act of 1988 which was intended to provide safe and effective but affordable drugs
particularly to low income households, the prices of drugs and medicines in the Philippines
continue to be one of the highest in Asia. According to a former secretary of health of the
country, Dr. Alberto Romualdez, the prices of drugs and medicines in the Philippines are 250 to
1,600 percent higher than in neighboring Asian countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, India,
Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Moreover, hospitalization cost has likewise increased with the shift to
user-fee schemes of government hospitals to compensate for the dwindling government budget
for health. There is nothing free now in government hospitals even for those classified as
indigent or charity patients. They have to pay for every cotton ball, needle, syringe used in their
treatment. Patients also have to go through very stringent screening procedures with a lot of
paper work before they can be classified as indigent to avail of the decreasing benefits provided
by government health facilities.

Furthermore, due to the rising costs of health goods and services, 54% of deaths in the country
are not medically attended. This means that people die without being seen by a doctor or health
care provider. In remote rural areas of the country, large numbers of women and children die
without being seen by a doctor or a health care provider. Also, 62% of infants are born at home,
because of economic and cultural reasons.

What is ironic is the fact that the Philippines is one of the leading producers of doctors and
nurses. However, due to low income and lack of professional growth, there is a mass exodus of
nurses and doctors to the USA, UK Canada, Ireland and Saudi Arabia, which is expected to
continue in the coming years. Between 2000 and 2003, it is estimated that more than 50,000
nurses left the country (Tan, Balanon & Sanchez, 2004).

A disturbing development in the health sector during the past several years is the phenomenon of
doctors, many of whom are already consultants or specialists, taking up nursing as a second
course and with the objective of working abroad. At least 9,000 doctors have become nurses or
are about to become nurses and nursing medics. Out of this number, 1,500 have left the country,
while another 1,500 have just completed taking the nursing licensure examination. The 6,000 are
enrolled in shortened 1½ to 3-year nursing courses offered by nursing schools catering to the
needs of doctors wanting to become nurses (Tan, Balanon & Sanchez, 2004).

The mass exodus of nurses and doctors has contributed to the worsening state of health care
delivery in rural areas due to the lack or non-availability of health professionals. For instance, 3
hospitals in Mindanao and 2 hospitals in Isabela have stopped operations because they have no
more doctors and nurses. The nurse-patient ratio in many government hospitals has also
worsened as a consequence of the brain drain problem in the country. The ideal nurse-patient

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ratio is 1:4, but in the country’s leading state training hospital for health professionals, the
Philippine General Hospital (PGH), it is now 1:15-26; at the Jose Reyes Memorial Medical
Center, it is 1:30-40 while in some hospitals in Davao del Sur, the nurse-patient ratio is 1:45-55
(Medical Action Group & INAM, 2005).

The government’s failure to comply with its obligations to protect and respect the people’s right
to health as demonstrated in its lack of decisive action to address the surmounting health
problems is further manifested in the low priority given to the health sector based on the
dwindling allocation for health through the years. Since the mid-1980s, the health budget has
never gone beyond 4% of the total national appropriations. In 2005, the health budget got a
measly 1.1% compared to debt servicing which got 33% and the Department of National
Defense getting 5% of the total national budget (Medical Action Group & INAM, 2005).

Moreover, a 1993 World Bank study comparing the health care spending of 10 countries in the
Asia-Pacific region revealed that the Philippines had the second lowest per capita health
expenditure and also ranked as the second lowest in terms of health expenditure as percentage of
GDP (PIDS, 1998). The share of health spending to GNP of the country does not come close to
the WHO standard of at least 5% of GNP set for middle-income countries (DOH, 1999; PIDS,
1998).

Right to Education

Like the right to health, the state of the people’s right to education has also not been given much
attention by the national government although it may be receiving a higher budget compared to
health but not as much as debt servicing.

The low value placed by the state on education will partly explain why through the years, the
quality of public education has been deteriorating side-by-side with the deterioration in the
school performance of students. Data from the Department of Education reveal that for every
1,000 Grade 1 entrants, 312 do not complete elementary education; 249 students finish the 6-year
elementary education at an average of 9.6 years due to repetition. Less than half or 439 pupils are
able to complete elementary schooling in 6 years out of 1,000 entrants.

Furthermore, the country’s public school system has persistently been suffering from lack of
teachers, classrooms, chairs, textbooks, oversized classes, and dilapidated and leaking school
buildings. These problems have worsened during the past 6 years because of the rise in public
school enrollment with the transfer of pupils to public schools on account of economic
difficulties faced by families. Currently, there is a shortage of 49,212 teachers, 44,716
classrooms (based on a ratio of 1:45 pupils), 4.9M classroom chairs and 24.2M textbooks (ACT,
Philippines, 2005).

The People’s Response

The Filipino people in close collaboration with NGOs, people’s organizations (POs) and
progressive government officials, both at the national and local levels, have consistently

14
responded to the state of human rights in the country through the use of various means and
methods, despite limited material and financial resources.

The dominant forms of people’s response have been in the areas of human rights education,
research, training and information work among youth and students, urban and rural poor
residents, workers and peasants. Topics of education, information and research work have
primarily focused on the impact of globalization and the war against terror on the people’s civil
and political rights, economic, social and cultural rights. Human rights NGOs have undertaken
activities like the development and production of popular materials, training modules, short
films, etc. which can be easily used in their education and information work.

Campaigns have likewise been conducted by various NGOs and Pos. In the recent past, among
the major campaigns launched focus on the issues of mass poverty, ballooning foreign debt,
privatization of public utilities like water, abolition of the death penalty law, anti-terrorist
measures taken by the state like the national ID system and discrimination against Muslim
Filipinos.

Finally, lobby work in the Philippine Congress has been an important activity of NGOs and POs.
The Philippine Congress has been pressured to enact laws consistent with its human rights
commitments based on the various international human rights instruments it has ratified. Notable
achievements have been made by the women’s movement through the passage of several
important legislations during the past years. These include:

??RA 7877 or the anti-Sexual Harassment Law of 1995

??RA 8358 or the anti-Rape Law of 1997
??RA 8369 or the Family Courts Act of 1997
??RA 8505 or the Rape Victims Assistance & Protection Act of 1998 creating crisis
centers nationwide
??RA 9208 or Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003
??RA 9262 or Anti-Violence Against Women and Children of 2004

Despite the increasing difficulties and hardships which millions of Filipinos face and need to
surmount in order to survive, they have persistently and courageously struggled to assert and
defend their rights. Where human rights violations persist and a culture of impunity remains, the
Filipino people will continue fighting towards the attainment of a society where all individuals
enjoy a life of dignity and worth.

**********************

15
References:

Abellana, Mia E. Gunmen flee after killing 4 suspects. Sun Star Cebu. Dec. 27, 2005.

Alliance of Concerned Teachers of the Philippines (ACT-Phils). What is the State of

Philippines Education? 2005.

Battario, Red. Media Killings: Targeted Attacks or Culture of Violence? Human Rights Forum.
1(4), October-December 2004. 18.

Docena, Herbert. The National ID System: A Clear and Present Multi-Purpose Danger. Focus on
the Philippines. Number 11.

Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance (FIND). 2004 Report on Involuntary

Disappearnce in the Philippines. (Unpublished report)

Guinto, Joel Francis. Palace releases EO 420 on ‘multi-purpose ID system’. INQ7. April 21,
2005.

Manila Standard Today. May 5, 2005, p. A3.

Martel, Rene H. & Jovy S. Taghoy. CH sets bounty for hunters. Sun Star Cebu. Dec. 23, 2005.

Medical Action Group & INAM. The Philippine Right to Health Situation. 2005.

National Wages & Productivity Commission, March 2005.

National Statistics Office. The Philippine Figures. 2005.

National Statistics Office. Tuberculosis. 2003 National Demographic and Health Survey.

PDI Northern Luzon Bureau. A year of violence, diseases and upsets. Philippine Daily
Inquirer. January 5, 2005. A15.

Philippine Daily Inquirer. May 4, 2005, pp. A1-A8.

Philippine Daily Inquirer. May 8, 2005, pp. A16.

Ramos, Linette C. Police team to ‘seek and destroy’. Sun Star Cebu. Dec. 22, 2005.

Roque, Mylah Reyes. The Forgotten Children. Newsbreak. April 11, 2005. 19.

Sarmiento, Juan V. 15M Filipinos start day with no breakfast. Philippine Daily Inquirer. July
26, 2001.

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Tan, Jaime Galvez, Balanon, V. and Sanchez. The Philippine Phenomenon of Nursing
Medics: Why Filipino Doctors are Becoming Nurses. 2004.

Task Force Detainees of the Philippines. Blood Stains the Arroyo Government. Human Rights
Under the Arroyo Government, January-December 2004. (Unpublished paper)

http://www.census.gov.ph/data/pressrelease/2004/lf040tx.html

http://www.doh.gov.ph/data_stat/html/fhsis_environment.htm

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