Press statement

Rodrigo Duterte didn't even wait for the bill to lapse into law anymore: he knows his time is running short and opposition to his fascist rule is growing stronger by the day that he now desperately needs the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 to conduct his all-out crackdown on dissent.

Karapatan expresses solidarity with the American people and with various people’s movements all over the world in condemning the spate of ruthless racist attacks and police brutality on anti-racism protests in the United States following the murder of Black men and women such as George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery.

The conviction of Rappler’s Maria Ressa and Reynaldo Santos Jr. on cyber-libel charges has dire implications on the state of press freedom and the people’s right to information and freedom of expression in the Philippines. 

Twenty lawmakers reportedly withdrew their "yes" votes on the Anti-Terrorism Bill. This is a big and unprecedented number. There is a visible and growing clamor to junk the Anti-Terrorism Bill, and yet the rubber stamp Congress has now sneakily transmitted the bill to Malacañang yesterday, June 9, serving it on a bloody silver platter, just awaiting the president’s signature.

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights received a staggering 893 written submissions and 793 individually signed template-based letters. It had discussions with government representatives. It has validated the data received from numerous sources. It interviewed victims and witnesses. It has formed its conclusions and recommendations based on its independent and impartial process — and it has concluded that the human rights situation in the Philippines is rapidly deteriorating.

I challenge Sen. Ping Lacson to come out with emailed or received copies of invitations to known human rights organizations in the Philippines whom the Senate invited to the committee hearings. Karapatan and its members only knew about these hearings when media reports quoting generals come out.

We are not only saddened by the shutdown of ABS-CBN; we are also deeply alarmed. For the shutdown to be done on a day after World Press Freedom Day, the message to “tow the line or suffer the same fate of ABS-CBN,” is a clear threat. We are alarmed that soon, other media outlets would follow. Without the freedom of the press, there is the danger of other freedoms to be lost. God forbid, these are the first 'test signs' of curtailing other rights. While the situation limits our option to protest this move, we must do what we can.

Karapatan stands in solidarity with journalists and freedom of expression advocates against this blatant attack on press freedom with the recent National Telecommunications Commission’s cease and desist order against ABS-CBN. It is truly abhorrent that this order comes in the middle of a public health crisis where the free press plays a crucial role in keeping the public informed on relevant, verified, and life-saving information about the COVID-19 pandemic.

It is dreadful that amid the deplorable situation of the dozens of families whose makeshift shelters were torn down despite the threats of the coronavirus disease, police forces remain relentless in peddling lies to invalidate the legitimate calls of people for comprehensive responses to address the pandemic and their struggle for decent housing.