Category: News

November 20, 2020 ·  By Shay Cullen
Shay Cullen

Human trafficking and child sexual abuse is still alive and thriving in the Philippines. Online sexual abuse of children is everywhere, it seems, and more has to be done by the telecommunication corporations to stop it. That’s why this heinous crime against small children to satisfy the sexual lust of foreign pedophiles is so abhorrent. Shame on all who allow it to happen with impunity. The Philippines has become the hub for such crimes. The National Bureau of Investigations (NBI) in Olongapo and from Manila has rescued 18 women and children and arrested three human traffickers recently.

In Angeles City this week, two children were rescued and two pimps, both minors, were arrested and turned over to the social workers of Angeles City. A US national, Nicholas Pyant, was arrested by the Philippine National Police in a room with children and should be charged with sexual assault and rape of young children. Pyant was under surveillance for weeks and is allegedly a known child predator.

In Barrio Baretto, Olongapo City minors are brought to sex hotels to be sold as sex slaves to customers. They are a hub for spreading the coronavirus and human trafficking. The sex industry exists for the sexual gratification of foreign sex tourists and rich locals and earns huge profits for the foreign and local owners of the sex bars and hotels.

The social workers of the Preda Foundation are very active in intelligence gathering and provided vital information and assisted in the recent rescue of the trafficked women and minors in the Barretto night club district. The four minors were referred to the Preda Home for Girls where they are safe from the sex mafia and the families of the human traffickers. At the Preda home, they receive full support, affirmation, counselling, emotional release therapy and education and value formation to prepare them to have a normal, happy life. You can view life in the Preda Homes on Preda Foundation Youtube channel https://youtu.be/G0fFNmHSYic

The Preda home will assist the minors in bringing charges against their abusers and traffickers. Together, we win several convictions of traffickers and child rapists every year. In 2018, we had 18 convictions. In 2019 we helped the children win 20 convictions leading to life sentences. This year 2020, 13 convictions have been won so far. There would be more but due to the pandemic the courts were closed.

Fighting for justice is a very important healing therapy for the children to get justice and to testify in court what the abusers did to them. Most victims/survivors are teenagers. Some are only three years old and six-year-old. They can then have a happy, secure life knowing that their traffickers and rapists are behind bars and can abuse no more children. Some of the teenage children victims of human trafficking also want to be advocates for children’s rights and to speak out as is their right of free expression. They volunteer and sign on to be child rights advocates, a brave and courageous action to take. While we adults do everything to protect their identity, we cannot stop them from exercising their human and civil rights to speak out against human trafficking and advocate children’s rights.The #MeToo movement is a way for women and children to experience freedom from abuse and to fight for justice and many young survivors want to be part of it.

It is adults that allow the sexual exploitation of children in the first place.The horrific child sex abuse business that is a scourge today in the Philippines is due to the former presence of the US Naval Base at Subic Bay, Olongapo City. Thousands of women and children were exploited and abused in hundreds of sex bars catering to the US Navy personnel. It was a wonderland of sex fantasy and abuse. Pedophiles flocked there and the sex mafia systematically and efficiently allowed them to sexually exploit, rape and abuse children. The government allowed and promoted it and the rich made millions of dollars.

In 1983, I discovered a child sex abuse syndicate selling children as young as nine years old to US sailors. I broke that story in the media and instead of being recognized for taking a stand for justice and truth and child protection, I was vilified by local government officials at the time and I was brought to trial at the Bureau of Immigration to be deported. The charge was that my child protection work and writing was bringing Olongapo City and its officials into disrepute. They felt I was blaming them for the child sex industry. They denied all responsibility despite a high profile military court case in Guam that brought a US officer to trial for child sexual abuse in Olongapo City. A sad state of affairs indeed.

That’s how journalists and child rights campaigners fighting for the dignity of the Filipinos were dealt with. However, I won my case, was found innocent and continued my work protecting human rights from my base in the Preda Foundation. When the city officials said they would close the Preda home for children, I said it would be better to close the US Naval Base. An idea was born and I started a “Life after the Bases” campaign to close the US military bases and convert them to civilian economic zones. It was amazing then how many people, in the Catholic Philippines, were hostile and negative to that vision of hope and help.

However, against all opposition, I promoted that idea and it caught on and a coalition of civil society members was formed that eventually persuaded the Philippine Senate to vote against the continuation of the US military bases. The conversion plan I formulated was eventually implemented and Subic Bay is now a thriving industrial area giving jobs with dignity to thousands of Filipinos. Human trafficking never really ceased and years later it began to make a comeback as tourism was promoted. So, today we are still fighting this scourge against humanity and protecting Filipino children.

www.preda.org

Circular No. 20-79

Your Eminences, Your Excellencies and Very Reverend Diocesan Administrators:

Peace!

Typhoon Rolly left thousands of families bereft of hope, security and stability and a number of people dead in the Bicol Region. And days after it, Typhoon Ulysses hit many parts of Luzon, particularly Bicol and Metro Manila. In fact, as of today, many areas in the Archdiocese of Tuguegarao and Diocese of Ilagan are still under flood waters. These two (2) typhoons brought great suffering to our people, caused so much damage to properties, homes and sources of livelihood and, most painful of all, the loss of lives.

Though we are not strangers to this recurring natural calamity caused by typhoons, there is no doubt that we are again touched by the pain and misery that our people are experiencing during these difficult times as they also battle against the effects of COVID-19. We cannot even try to imagine the pain that families are enduring with the loss of loved ones.

Again, we are called to act in solidarity with these devastated families and communities. We are challenged to bring even our most humble and lowly offerings of mercy and compassion to these people. And one of these is our most sincere and fervent prayer to the Lord, for Him to touch the hearts of these suffering people, to keep their hopes alive, and to keep their faith in the Lord. Also, we offer our special prayers for those who died and for their grieving families.

We are aware that our CBCP-ECSA-JP and NASSA have written to appeal to us to jointly campaign for help and to bring whatever help we can do and offer to the suffering people in these areas. The CBCP-ECSA-JP and NASSA is in contact with the bishops of these affected areas.

Please find attached to this letter a copy of the appeal for your quick referral: Solidarity Appeal for Typhoon Rolly Devastated Families and Communities.

To: All Laiko Members: National Lay Organizations & Arch/Diocesan Councils of the Laity
Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Two weeks ago, we prayed hard for the protection of our Lord against the devastating onslaught of Typhoon Rolly in Metro Manila and the rest of our country. We slept in peace and woke up relieved that we were spared from this Super Typhoon. But millions of our fellow Filipinos were not spared. Hardest hit were our countrymen in the Albay and Catanduanes provinces. For many, it was like a Yolanda experience.

On that same weekend, we were reminded of our membership in the great Communion of Saints, that deep bond of love and active compassion among the  Church Militant, Triumphant and those who are still suffering. In this communion, we grow as Church, one body, under Christ our head.

The Sangguniang Laiko ng Pilipinas is calling on the generosity of our brothers and sisters to respond to our suffering brethren in Albay and Catanduanes. We are “one body under Christ” and they need our help. We are in communication with Bishop Joel Baylon, D.D. of the Diocese of Legazpi already but have no way to communicate yet with Bishop Manolo De Los Santos of the Diocese of Virac. We hope we can send them some help for the rehabilitation work needed there at this time.

Please send your donations to:

1. For the Diocese of Legazpi c/o Bishop Joel Baylon:
SOCIAL ACTION CENTER-SPM

BPI Acct# 0851-0067-37

2. For the Diocese of Virac c/o Bishop Manolo De Los Santos
BDO : RCBDVI FOR DIOCESE’S GENERAL.FUND
BDO – Virac Branch
SA# 006030001948

PNB : RCBDVI FOR DIOCESE’S GENERAL.FUND
PNB.-Virac Branch
SA# 253510025634

Thank you very much for your solidarity at this time!

For the Sangguniang Laiko ng Pilipinas

(Sgd) Bro. Rouquel Ponte
National President

Albay, Catanduanes hardest hit by super typhoon: NDRRMC
By Priam Nepomuceno, Philippine News Agency on November 2, 2020
https://www.canadianinquirer.net/2020/11/02/albay-catanduanes-hardest-hit-by-super-typhoon-ndrrmc/

From People’s Choice Movement (PCM)

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, 

Peace!

Below is a statement of PCM’s call for unity in the 2022 election. In view of this, we would like to invite everyone (group and individuals) to join in this signature campaign while sending this at the same time to your own networks who may have our same belief.

God bless and Maraming Salamat.

On September 14, 2020, more than 60 organizations and 70 individuals signed a UNITY STATEMENT  calling for the 2022 National and Local Elections to be held as scheduled.

We now come together again, as ONE VOICE, ONE NATION, to declare: WE WANT THE ELECTIONS  OF 2022 TO BE A TRULY DEMOCRATIC EXERCISE EVERY FILIPINO CAN TRUST!

We call on COMELEC to stop using the current non-transparent automated election system, cancel and terminate any contract it may still have with its foreign provider, Smartmatic.

We demand a more accurate and transparent system that is also cost-efficient in consideration of the pandemic.

We urge Congress to now pass a law to pave the way for the COMELEC to adopt an alternative automated election system (Alternative AES) that is appropriate, more accurate, and more transparent.

We request the House of Representatives to give priority to this and work closely with the Senate on passing this bill into law and made effective for use by the COMELEC for the coming 2022 elections.

The decision to shift to an electronic voting system in 2010 which would provide a faster count and results transmission was good, but through the years, there have been many problems with the system that far outweighed the benefits and eroded the people’s trust in the automated electoral process, casting doubts on the results of each election. Here are a few examples of these problems from the 2016 & 2019 National Elections.

1. In 2016, the premature transmission of vote tallies from at least two municipalities, one day before the actual voting started. In how many more municipalities did this happen? This anomaly could not be explained.

2. Also in 2016, Smartmatic changed the transparency server script on the evening of election day, even though it was NOT given the authorization to do so by the COMELEC En Banc, as the Election Law requires.

3. In 2019, the highly controversial7-hour delay in the transmission of votes into the COMELEC transparency  server that neither COMELEC nor Smartmatic could explain. The glitch put into question the reliability of the entire election process.

In a speech made to the Filipino community in Japan, President Duterte told COMELEC “Dispose of Smartmatic, find a system free of fraud.” Many have supported this call. We the people agree and would rather have an alternative automated election system (Alternative AES) that is more transparent and FILIPINO-MADE that ensures the sovereignty of our election process.

We appeal to President Duterte, Congress, and the COMELEC, to ensure that the 2022 NATIONAL  ELECTIONS be FAIR, ACCURATE, TRANSPARENT CREDIBLE, and will  TRULY REFLECT the PEOPLE’S WILL. This will promote TRUST and UNITY between the government and its citizens, and enable us to work as one to address the challenges we face as a nation.

We also call upon all POLITICAL PARTIES and prospective CANDIDATES and their followers to get behind the move to push for an alternative automated system and to support its implementation for the 2022 national and local elections.

Finally, we call upon our FELLOW CITIZENS, especially the YOUTH, to actively PARTICIPATE in the election process, to REGISTER & VOTE, and promote the transparency and credibility of the counting process.

Signed:

Individuals:
Albert Oasan
Alberto “Bertie” Lim
Alex Ramos
Aristotle Socrates
Augusto “Gus” Lagman
Aurora Pijuan
BB Poblador
Bishop Broderick S. Pabillo
Dan
Danilo Arao
Emmanuel Sakay
Enteng Romano
Eric Alvia
Ernie del Rosario (ex Comelec ITD Head)
Hubert Guevara
Imelda “Mely” Nicolas
Joel Rocamora
Jojo Deles
Jun Cruz
Leah Navarro

November 05, 2020 Zenit Staff Vatican City

The traditional inauguration of the Nativity Scene and the lighted Christmas tree will be held, despite the COVID-19 limitations, in Saint Peter’s Square on Friday, December 11, at 4:30 pm.

According to a Vatican note, the ceremony will be presided over by Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello, President of the Governorate of Vatican City State, and Bishop Fernando Alzaga, Secretary-General of the same.

Given the circumstances the world is experiencing due to the pandemic, this year’s Christmas decoration is intended to be “a sign of hope and trust” and an expression of the “certainty that Jesus comes among His people to save them.”

The Nativity Scene, which will be set up in Saint Peter’s Square, comes from Castelli, in the Italian province of Teramo, a very important ceramics center since the 16th century. The red fir tree is 289 meters tall and 70 centimeters in diameter; it comes from the Municipality of Kocevje in South-eastern Slovenia.

The Crib

According to the press release, this Crib is characterized by being made up of ceramic statues that are larger than those of natural size.

Not only is it a cultural symbol for all the Abruzzi, but it’s also considered an object of contemporary art, which sinks its roots in the traditional work of Castelli’s ceramics. It’s a work done by the students and teachers of the F.A. Grue Art Institute, present-day State School of Art for Design.

Only a few pieces of the fragile collection of 54 statues will be displayed in Saint Peter’s Square. They will be placed along a luminous platform, of some 125 square meters, which surrounds, in a gentle slope, part of the obelisk.

Sculptures

The sculptures represent the Wise Kings. At the center, in the highest point of the platform, is the group of the Nativity Scene, with an Angel with open wings. His place above the Holy Family symbolizes his protection of the Saviour, Mary, and Joseph.

The first group of statues, made up of the Holy Family, was made together with the piper, the shepherdess with the jar, a flautist with Pan’s flute, and a girl with a doll. The inspirers of the project were Serafino Mattucci, then Director and animator of the Institute, and the teachers Gianfranco Trucchia and Roberto Bentini. The students and all the Institute’s technical staff took part with great enthusiasm.

In the Abbruzzi Crib, there are strong references to the history of ancient art, from Greek to Sumerian art, passing through Egyptian sculpture. Moreover, in the objects that enrich it and in the <pentachromia> with which the works have been decorated is found the memory of local ceramic art. The statues were made with modules of rings that, overlapping, form cylindrical busts.

Perceived in some figures, especially in the use of color, is the experimentation and renewal of the ceramic art developed in those years in the Grue Institute. The first public display of the Nativity Scene took place in Castelli, in the Mother Church in December of 1965, then Christmas of 1970 was the turn of the Trajan markets in Rome and a few years later in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Tel Aviv.

The Christmas Tree

The red fir comes from Kocevje, South-eastern Slovenia. This region is one of the Slovenian territories where nature is most intact, taking into account that the forests cover 90% of its territory.

The fir chosen for Saint Peter’s Square grew six kilometers in a straight line from the virgin forest of Krokar, one of the two Slovenian forest reserves. The other is Sneznik-drocle (in the Notranjska region), one of the 63 sites of ancient primordial beech trees that are on UNESCO’s world patrimony list.

Symbol of Fertility

The picea abies (red fir) spread amply in Slovenia in the second half of the 18th century. It represents over 30% of the forest resources and is the most important tree species from the economic point of view. It has been a symbol of fertility since ancient times and, in popular tradition, it is often used in ceremonies such as the May 1 celebrations or those of Christmas. In the Beka Krajina region, it was a tradition on the feast of Saint George, to carry in procession a spruce decked out with flowers and fabrics. Europe’s tallest fir, Sgermova smrek, measures 61.80 meters and is found in the Pohorje Massif in Slovenia. It’s about 300 years old, with a perimeter of three meters and 54 centimeters; its diameter is more than a meter.

The Tree and the Nativity Scene will be displayed in the Square until the end of Christmastide, which coincides with the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, Sunday, January 10, 2021.

Laiko EMPOWERED LEADERS CONVERSATION: “DISCIPLE-MAKING ONLINE” on Saturday, November 7, 2020, 2-4 pm. Dr. Jake Yap and Bro. Abyong Calo of The Harvest Institute shared some time-tested principles and practical steps in making disciples in an online environment.

Praying for Those with COVID & Healthcare Workers, Pope Calls Being Without Public Again ‘Unfortunate’ But Responsible

November 04, 2020  Deborah Castellano Lubov General Audience

Due to the increasingly rising number of COVID19 cases every day, and increasing deaths, throughout the world and in Italy, Pope Francis returned to privately streaming his Wednesday General Audiences today November 4, 2020, while in Italy the daily number of new cases falls around 30,000, and daily deaths between 200 and 300.

This move to return without public this week was communicated in a Oct. 29 brief statement Oct. 29, issued by the Holy See Press Office to accredited journalists.

“From next Wednesday, November 4, 2020, the Holy Father’s General Audiences will again be broadcast from the Library of the Apostolic Palace,” it began, noting: “This follows the identification of a positive case of COVID-19 during the General Audience of Wednesday, October 21,” and is being done “in order to avoid any eventual future risk for the participants’ health.”

No changes have been made, for the time being, of the Pope’s Angelus in St. Peter’s Square on Sundays at noon, which are still taking place according to the necessary health protocols.

He began his remarks to those following noting that it is “unfortunate” to no longer be with the public due the resurgence of COVID, but expresses it is responsible to act in accordance with the recommendations against gatherings by the authorities.

This morning, the Pope continued his catechesis on prayer and specially Jesus as a teacher of prayer, and how his prayer life characterized all the Lord did.

“Consistent prayer,” the Pope reminded, “produces a progressive transformation, makes us strong in times of tribulation, gives us the grace to be supported by Him who loves us and always protects us.”

Toward the audience’s conclusion, the Pope also invited that in this month of November, “let us pray especially for our deceased loved ones, and for all who have died, that the Lord in his mercy will welcome them to the banquet of eternal life. Upon you and your families I invoke the joy of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Below are the Pope’s full remarks provided in English by the Vatican:

Catechesis on prayer – 13. Jesus, Teacher of prayer

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

Unfortunately we have had to return to holding this audience in the library, to defend ourselves against contagion by Covid. This also teaches us that we must be very attentive to the prescriptions of the authorities, both the political authorities and the health authorities, to defend ourselves against this pandemic. Let us offer to the Lord this distance between us, for the good of all, and let us think, let us think a lot about the sick, about those who are already marginalised when they enter the hospitals, let us think of the doctors, the nurses, the volunteers, the many people who work with the sick at this time: they risk their life but they do so out of love for their neighbour, as a vocation. Let us pray for them.

During His public life, Jesus constantly availed himself of the power of prayer. The Gospels show this to us when He retired to secluded places to pray. These are sober and discreet observations, that allow us only to imagine those prayerful dialogues. They clearly demonstrate, however, that even at times of greater dedication to the poor and the sick, Jesus never neglected His intimate dialogue with the Father. The more He was immersed in the needs of the people, the more He felt the need to repose in the Trinitarian Communion, to return to the Father and the Spirit.

There is, therefore, a secret in Jesus’ life, hidden from human eyes, which is the fulcrum of everything else. Jesus’ prayer is a mysterious reality, of which we have a slight intuition, but which allows us to interpret His entire mission from the right perspective. In those solitary hours – before dawn or at night – Jesus immersed Himself in intimacy with the Father, that is, in the Love that every soul thirsts for. This is what emerges from the very first days of His public ministry.

One Sabbath, for example, the town of Capernaum was transformed into a “field hospital”: after sunset they brought all the sick to Jesus, and He healed them. Before dawn, however, Jesus disappeared: He withdrew to a solitary place and prayed. Simon and the others looked for Him and when they found Him they said: “Everyone is searching for you!” How does Jesus reply? “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also; for that is why I came out” (see Mk 1:35-38). Jesus always goes a bit further, further in prayer with the Father, and beyond, to other villages, other horizons, to go and preach to other peoples.

Prayer was the rudder that guides Jesus’ course. It was not success, it was not consensus, it was not the seductive phrase “everyone is searching for you”, that dictated the stages of His mission. The path Jesus charted was the least comfortable one, but it was the one by which He obeyed the Father’s inspiration, which Jesus heard and welcomed in His solitary prayer.

The Catechism states that “When Jesus prays He is already teaching us how to pray” (no. 2607). Therefore, from Jesus’ example we can derive some characteristics of Christian prayer.

UPLB Perspective
By PB Yapjoco
November 2, 2020

Four Aetas were pressed with trumped up charges for allegedly violating the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, the Republic Act (RA) 9516 or the Illegal Possession of Explosives, and the RA 10591 o Violation Against Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition.

Among those being charged were Jay Garung, Rosalyn Urbano, Kiray Serrano and Junior Ramos, who are now experiencing detainment and separated from their families in Sitio Lumibao, Zambales.

Last August 21, over 192 families and 659 residents faced sudden eviction due to a supposed ongoing conflict with the National People’s Army (NPA), the 73rd Division Reconnaissance Company, and the 48th Infantry Battalion under the 7th Infantry Division Philippine Army (7ID PA).

The said military operation resulted into numerous bombings and attacks within the Aeta lands, disrupting the security and livelihood for hundreds of families. In an attempt to get affected Aetas to surrender in being part of the NPA, members of the 7ID PA allegedly resorted to degrading methods of torture and detainment, such as forcing victims to eat human feces and verbal abuse.

Downplaying human rights

These bombings were denied by the 7ID Public Affairs Office Chief Major Amando Gutierrez, who said that no bombing happened and that Aetans were checked by a doctor.

According to the Commision on Human Rights (CHR) spokesperson Jacqueline de Guia, “… the Commission has always reminded members of the armed forces to adhere to the principles of human rights and international humanitarian law.”

This however, is contradictory to the recent statement of Pitang Garung, the mother of Lumibao 4 victim Jay Garung, who stated that Jay had been subjected to physical and mental torture since his detainment.

“Pinaparantangan nilang NPA ang anak ko… binugbog at pinagtatadyak po nila ang anak ko, tapos pinakain pa nila ng dumi ng tao ang anak ko,” she said.

According to Sandugo-Movement of Moro and Indigenous Peoples for Self-Determination (SANDUGO) the bombardment of the Aeta community was meant to pave way for mining explorations of Dizon Copper-Silver Mines, Inc.

Some statements, contained in the documentary “Francesco” by the director Evgeny Afineevsky, elicited, in these past days, diverse reactions and interpretations. Therefore, here are some useful points in order to bring about, at his request, an adequate understanding of the words of the Holy Father.

More than a year ago, in an interview, Pope Francis responded to two distinct questions in two diverse moments that, in the aforementioned documentary, were edited and published as one answer without the proper contextualization which generated confusion.  The Holy Father has made in the first place a pastoral reference regarding the necessity of not discriminating within the family a son or a daughter because of his or her homosexual orientation. This is referred to in the following words: “Homosexuals have the right to be in a family; they are children of God who have a right to belong to a family. No one should be thrown out of a family nor someone’s life rendered difficult (or impossible) because of this (i.e. homosexual orientation)”.

The following citation in the Post-Synodal Exhortation on love in the family Amoris laetitia (2016) can clarify such expressions: “With the Synodal Fathers I have taken into consideration the situation of families who live the experience of having a member  with homosexual tendency; an experience which is not easy neither for the parents nor for the children. We would like therefore to reaffirm that every person, regardless of their sexual orientation, should be respected in his or her dignity and accepted with respect, taking care of avoiding “every trace of discrimination” and particularly every form of aggression  and violence. These families should instead be assured of a respectful guidance, so that those who manifest homosexual tendency may avail of the necessary help to understand and fully realize the will of God in their lives”. (n. 250)

A subsequent question in the interview was instead in reference to a local legislation ten years ago in Argentina on “matrimonies igualitarios (egalitarian marriages) of couples of the same sex” and the opposition of the former Archbishop of Buenos Aires on that regard. On this matter Pope Francis affirmed that “it is incongruent to speak of homosexual marriage”, stating further that, in such particular context, he spoke (instead) of the right of these persons to have legal protection: “that which we must do is a law of civil union (convivencia civil); they have the right to be legally protected. I defended this matter”.

The Holy Father articulated in an interview of 2014: “Marriage is between a man and a woman. The secular States would like to justify civil unions to regulate various situations of convivence, forced by the necessity to regulate economic matters between persons, for example to guarantee health insurance. It deals with agreements of convivence of different kinds, of which I cannot list its varied forms. It is necessary to see the various cases and evaluate them in their diversity.

It is therefore evident that Pope Francis was referring to particular State provisions, not definitely in reference to the doctrine of the Church, reaffirmed numerous times over the years.

Press Statement
Amnesty International Philippines

As a Senate committee  begins its inquiry  into the issue on 3 November 2020, Amnesty International calls on the Philippine government to end its vicious and at times deadly practice of red-tagging- the labeling of groups or individuals perceived to be critical of the government as “communists” or “terrorists”. Instead of maligning and endangering people for the lawful exercise of their freedom of expression, the government should seek to address legitimate criticism of its policies and practices. In the prevailing context where red-tagged individuals become the targets of harassment, threats and even killings, courts and pertinent  government agencies must take concrete steps to ensure the safety and protection  of these individuals.

On 21 October, Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr. warned Filipino  celebrity  Liza Soberano in a Facebook post that she would “suffer  the same fate” as Josephine Anne Lapira, who was killed  in a clash in 2017 between government forces and alleged members of the communist New People’s Army. This followed Soberano’s expression of support for women’s rights organization and political party Gabriela, calling on influencers  to speak up about the rights of women and children.

Parlade also publicly announced that former and current Congressional representatives of progressive party-list  groups, including Gabriela, are under surveillance  for being “card-bearing members of the Communist  Party of the Philippines” (CPP), adding that the anti-terror  law is now “in  effect”. Parlade is the commander of the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ Southern Luzon Command and spokesperson of the government-created National Task Force to End Local Communist  Armed Conflict  (NTF-ELCAC).

The phenomenon of red-tagging has been happening for decades now but has intensified in the last few years under the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte, following the breakdown of peace talks between the government and the CPP in 2017. Duterte’s subsequent  Executive Order (EO) 70 provides for a “Whole-of-Nation approach in defeating the Local Communist Terrorist Groups” and led to the creation of the NTF-ELCAC. Observers point to this moment in time as the beginning of a renewed campaign of red-tagging, threats and harassment against human rights defenders, political activists,  lawyers, trade unionists and other targeted groups perceived to be affiliated with the progressive left.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights along with human rights organizations have called for the immediate  end to this approach, expressing concern that the government’s dangerously broad counter-insurgency  strategy has led to an increase in human rights violations against human rights defenders and political activists  across the country.

Amnesty International  remains deeply concerned by increasing cases of killings, as well as the arbitrary arrests and detention  of red-tagged individuals. Recent examples of killings include  the murder of activist and peace advocate Randall Echanis on 10 August 2020 and human rights defender  Zara Alvarez on 17 August 2020. Echanis and Alvarez were among the hundreds of individuals named in a “terrorist” list drawn up by the Department of Justice and submitted to a Philippine court. Other political activists and human rights defenders have been arrested and detained following  raids in their offices by security forces that allegedly involved fabrication  of evidence, such as the planting  of firearms and explosives. Those still  detained include  Reina Mae Nasino, a community  organizer for Kadamay, an advocacy group for the urban poor. During her detention  in October 2020, Nasino’s three-month-old baby died after being separated from her and the incident  sparked public outrage. Amnesty International  is concerned that killings, arrests and detention  of political activists and human rights defenders will continue  as long as indiscriminate red-tagging by the government persists.

Amnesty International  is also concerned that the recent approval of the alarming implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of  Republic  Act 11479 or the Anti-Terrorism  Act of 2020 provides the government further  unchecked powers to unduly target anyone who may be red-tagged under the legislation. The IRR, for example, gives power to an Anti-Terrorism Council- composed of presidential  appointees- to publish  the names of those it designates on its own as “terrorists”. This practice is in contravention  of international  standards on due process and the presumption of innocence, with the only right of appeal being to the Council itself.  It allows a pre-charge detention  period of a maximum  of 24 days, which greatly exceeds norms under international standards. The law remains in violation  of international  standards on human rights and counter­ terrorism with its vague and overbroad definitions of ‘terrorism’, highlighting the risk that it can be used to target government critics. In addition, it empowers security forces to conduct surveillance,  endangering individuals’ right to privacy.

Amnesty International  calls on the Philippine government to end the “red-tagging” of civil  society organizations and political activists  and cease violence and threats of violence against them. The government should ensure adequate protection  for those who have been red-tagged, and bring those responsible for threats and violence to justice in fair trials.  Philippine authorities  should also publicly instruct  their officials to end the harassment and intimidation of human rights defenders and activists simply  for exercising their rights or carrying out human rights work.

Under international  law and standards, the Philippines has an obligation  to ensure the protection of the rights of all, including the rights to life, freedom of expression, and freedom of peaceful assembly, as guaranteed by the International  Covenant on Civil and Political  Rights (ICCPR) to which the Philippines is a state party. Ensuring that human rights defenders and civil  society activists  are able to undertake their professional activities free from harassment, threats, and harm is an essential component  of the promotion and protection  of human rights in the country.

Finally, the organization urges the government to ensure that the Anti-Terrorism  Act and its implementing rules and regulations are amended and brought in line with  international  standards on counter-terrorism, and not used to unduly target those that are red-tagged by the Duterte administration.