Carl June G.

Naraiso Blog #4 – INTRO TO LAW 1

PolSci 3-B Atty. Romeo Cabarde

The State of Human Rights in the Philippines: Yay or Nay?

As duty-bearers, the Philippine government's responsibility to respect, protect, and fulfill the fundamental
human rights of its citizens (rights-holders) can be portrayed as a constant battle between politics, clientelism,
quota system, accountability, and power. Politics is always at play as different administrations have varied
marginal utility when it comes to the variability of implementing or strengthening the human rights aspect of the
law. For example, FPRRD has a unique take on human rights when it comes to its staunch campaign against
illegal drugs and criminality in hopes of curbing these societal ills. He constantly justifies the actions of the police
force as necessary in their line of duty, even if it is already violating the fundamental human rights of the alleged
suspects in the crime. Clientelism is also at play because politicians tend to protect their supporters but suppress
their opponents, which may foster impunity and undermine the rule of law. Their control over resources may
perpetuate discrimination, infringing on the right to equal treatment. Clientelist networks benefit from intimidation
and violence to stifle dissent, degrade democratic institutions, and disproportionately hurt underprivileged
people, breaching their rights to vital governmental services and their necessities.

The quota system permeates the degradation of human rights in the sense that some police officers have to
reach specific arrest quotas for their advancement. It becomes a conflict of interest on their part as some of
them may strive to get promoted at the expense of violating the human rights of individuals. Their ill motives
have thrown innocent civilians to jail for the hidden purpose of achieving their desired promotion. It permeates
a behavior of greed and immorality. Accountability is also at play because there must be constant monitoring of
accountability within the realm of government in upholding human rights in the country. Corruption is a
contributory factor in perpetuating human rights violations. Corrupt practices seem to have a massive toll on the
accountability of government officials to ensure that human rights are upheld within their sphere of influence,
as personal interests seem to take control over the collective good. Lastly, human rights are infringed upon by
those in power and have extreme wealth at their disposal. Often, these people sway to the more accessible
side of things. They prefer efficient means of business even if the consequence arrives at sacrificing, to some
degree, the human rights of individuals or groups affected by their actions, concerted by their utilization of power
and wealth.

As I see the current landscape of human rights in the Philippines, there is still a long way to go to be at par
with international standards regarding the government's approach to enforcing human rights mechanisms. The
government must ensure that the factors or loopholes I previously mentioned seemingly taking a brutal hit on
human rights in the country should be appropriately addressed by crafting new redress mechanisms, policies,
and legislative initiatives that will harness the protection of human rights in the country, even though different
administrations that will come and go in the future.