HUMAN rights organization Amnesty International on Thursday, March 15, blasted the government's plan to open ancestral lands in Mindanao to investors.
Speaking to reporters in Cagayan de Oro City on Thursday, Jose Noel Olano, director of Amnesty International’s Philippines section, said President Rodrigo Duterte seems to have the same rhetoric for all disadvantaged and marginalized sector -- that they should adjust to their circumstances.
"Duterte speaks as if his hands are tied and expects people to just bend over backwards for policies that are counter-progressive to human rights. His actions and words normalize discrimination against minorities and the marginalized groups," Olano said.
Olano said the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte has rolled back hard-won human rights guarantees that activists fought for in the past.
With these policies, Olano said the president should expect more protests and mass resistance as his threats gave fresh oxygen to the spirit of resistance.
The human rights group, however, said the shrinking civic space for public participation in the country is making it more dangerous to speak out against the government and engage in protests.
Duterte’s cavalier attitude to basic human rights also encourages a climate of fear among human rights defenders, the rights group adds.
Olano said the growing inequality is creating a climate for social division to thrive and thus leads to more human rights violations.
Duterte, which the Amnesty identified as one of the worst world leaders, said attacks on journalists and human rights defenders, particularly those critical of the government, has increased in 2017.
"Duterte's witch hunt is relentless, a number of individuals continue to face threats and intimidation," he said.
The Amnesty International was in Cagayan de Oro to bring its global human rights report for 2017 and 2018 to Mindanao.
One of the highlights of its annual report on the State of the World's Human Rights was the widespread killings of thousands of alleged drug offenders, which it says, appeared to be systematic, planned, organized and encouraged by the authorities.
The report emphasized that since the drug war started, there has been no meaningful investigations into the killings, and that no police officers were known to have been held to account.
Amnesty's annual report was launched in Manila last February 22, in Cagayan de Oro yesterday, and will be also be launched in Baguio this March 23.
The group's State of the World’s Human Rights covers a total of 159 countries and gives the public a comprehensive analysis of the state of human rights in the world today.