Pacific Media Watch

The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) has strongly condemned the shoot-to-kill order by President Rodrigo Duterte this week as a ‘dangerous’ opening to target and kill anyone in a public space.

“We are raising the alarm in the international community on President Duterte’s directive to kill unruly violators of the coronavirus quarantine,” said coalition president Peter Murphy.

“This pronouncement is a dangerous order that allows authorities to target and kill anyone in a public space.

READ MORE: ‘Shoot them dead’ – Duterte orders troops to kill quarantine violators

“It is also a complete violation of the fundamental rights of Filipinos especially in this time of global pandemic.”

President Duterte addressed the nation hours after incidents of unrest and people massing up for food and relief in the country’s capital.

In his televised speech, his tirade of violent threats included: “I will not hesitate. My orders are sa pulis pati military…na pagka ginulo at nagkaroon ng okasyon na lumaban at ang buhay ninyo ay nalagay sa alanganin—shoot them dead,” (I will not hesitate. My orders to the police and military…if they caused any disorder, and they fight back and your lives are on the line—shoot them dead).

The same day, 21 citizens were arrested for going out of their homes and demanding the relief promised by the national government.

Residents rally for food, aid
Residents of an urban community in the biggest city in Metro Manila staged a rally asking for food and aid amid the government’s lockdown to contain the coronavirus, which in turn has left millions of Filipinos jobless and hungry.

“Our support goes to the poor Filipinos whose only crime is to be hungry and demand what is rightfully theirs,” said Murphy in a statement.

“The right to food and basic social services should be ensured especially in times like these. A video circulating in the social media shows citizens demanding food being violently dispersed by authorities.

“Naintindihan ninyo? Patay. Eh kaysa mag-gulo kayo diyan, eh ‘di ilibing ko na kayo (Do you understand? Dead. Instead of causing trouble, I’ll send you to the grave),” Duterte added in his recorded address.

Recently, the president was given special powers to distribute P200 billion (US$3.9 billion) to more than 18 million poor households. But after a week the aid remains unreleased.

“President Duterte’s criminal negligence coupled with brutal measures to address the pandemic is taking its toll on Filipinos. Millions of informal workers have been displaced and right abuses have been rampant all over the country,” said Murphy.

Enforcing social distancing
“The police and military who have been deployed to enforce social distancing are not trained for this task and have been the very perpetrators of human rights violations,” ICHRP stated.

The authorities have been detaining homeless people, putting curfew violators in cages and using torture methods to punish them, and even arresting citizens over “provoking” posts on social media.

Netizens showed their anger online over the president’s pronouncement to “shoot them dead” and called for him to be ousted. The #OustDuterte hashtag has been trending in the Philippines for two days now.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) states that “measures that limit individual rights and civil liberties must be necessary, reasonable, proportional, equitable, non-discriminatory, and in full compliance with national and international laws.”

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

The Philippines Department of Health (DOH) has confirmed 29 new cases of the Covid-19 novel coronavirus in the country today – bringing the total number of cases to 140 – as Metro Manila went into lockdown for one month.

The DOH also announced that three more patients have died from the virus. The death toll now stands at 11.

READ MORE: DAY 1 of Metro Manila lockdown

The three latest fatalities are:

• 9th death: an 86-year-old American male from Marikina City with travel history to the United States and South Korea. He was the 9th recorded case and died on Saturday, March 14.
• 10th death: a 40-year-old Filipino male from Pasig City with no travel history and no history of exposure 14 days prior to onset of symptoms. He was the 54th recorded case, and died on Sunday, March 15.
• 11th death: a 64-year-old Filipino male from Negros Oriental who went to Greenhills. He was the 39th recorded case, and died on Sunday, March 15.

Municipal councillor
Earlier on Sunday, the Negros Oriental provincial government said the fatality from the province was a councilor from the municipality of Tayasan.

He was an immunocompromised patient, having had a kidney transplant earlier.

Meanwhile, at least four members of the Duterte Cabinet have tested negative for the virus – Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade, and Public Works Secretary Mark Villar.

They were among the government officials who went into self-quarantine after exposure to a person who later turned out to have the virus.

With the rising number of coronavirus cases, Metro Manila went into lockdown beginning today.

Travel in and out of the capital region is restricted.

President Rodrigo Duterte declared a state of public health emergency on March 9.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz