(We yield this space to the statement of the Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition on the killings and attacks against women human rights defenders in the Philippines due to its significance. – Ed.)
THE WOMEN Human Rights Defenders International Coalition (WHRD-IC) expresses grave concern on the ongoing attacks and criminalization of women human rights defenders in the Philippines. Recently, three women peasants – Angelife Arsenal, Morena Mendoza, and Marcelina Dumaguit – were among those killed in the gruesome October 20 massacre of nine peasants in Sagay City, Negros Occidental. The WHRD-IC also condemned the current government for legitimizing the culture of impunity.
The WHRD-IC is gravely concerned that the administration has normalized the discourse of sexual violence, sexism and misogyny through actions and pronouncements against women. These actions exacerbate and perpetuate the systemic and systematic oppression and dispossession of the majority of poor and marginalized women who continue to bear the consequences of neoliberal economic policies, authoritarian rule; and perpetuating patriarchal culture in the Philippines.
Amidst this hostile social, economic and political climate, women human rights defenders (WHRDs) on the ground have persistently, relentlessly and uncompromisingly worked for the realization of human rights for all. Yet in the course of undertaking their legitimate work for women’s rights and human rights, the government and its agencies have listed WHRDs as enemies of the state, filed fabricated charges against WHRDs, and denied them due process. State-backed security forces are implicated in the killing of several WHRDs.
In two years state forces are implicated in the extrajudicial killings of at least 33 women human rights defenders.
Targeting WHRDs by killing and listing them as enemies of the state makes it evident that the administration is going on an all-out war against human rights defenders who dare to speak against rights violations and the prevalent culture of impunity in the Philippines. Other tactics used are the heightened vilification, defamation and criminalization of WHRDs and other defenders in the Philippines. Aside from the extrajudicial killings, there are at least a hundred more WHRDs who face fabricated criminal charges including Hedda Calderon of Gabriela, who remain detained facing false non-bailable criminal charges. WHRDs also experience grave harassment, threats, and are labeled “enemies of the state.” The government’s actions against human rights defenders hinder and delegitimize their work to defend women’s and human rights.
