Human-rights violations in 2009 are “numerous and varied and no sector of society is exempted,” belying the Arroyo government’s claim that steps have been taken to improve the Philippine government’s human-rights record, according to Karapatan. And with Oplan Bantay Laya 2’s deadline in 2010 fast approaching, more abuses are certain to occur, it said.
by MARYA SALAMAT
MANILA — Human rights took a beating from the Arroyo regime in 2009, a period that saw the continuation of violations of basic rights that began to worsen ever since President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo came to power in 2001.
In its annual report on the human-rights situation in the Philippines between 2001 to 2009, Karapatan not only called attention to the myth of democracy in the Philippines — it also pointed to the myth of Philippine sovereignty, the myth of the rule of law under Arroyo and the myth of the existence of a government that is supposedly for the people.
Examining the Ampatuan massacre for example, except for the large number of victims extrajudicially killed all in one day, what happened in Maguindanao last November 23 had been happening all over the Philippines for nine years now. Under Arroyo’s undeclared martial law , the Ampatuan massacre was actually a “carnage waiting to happen,” Karapatan said in its report.
As with the other human-rights atrocities recorded in the country, the Ampatuan massacre is directly traceable to the Arroyo government’s “blueprint for terror and impunity” called Oplan Bantay Laya (OBL). A national policy that “unleashes state terrorism on the people,” the Arroyo government’s OBL shrouded the entire country under an undeclared martial law from 2002 up to now, Karapatan said.
Under the Arroyo government’s undeclared martial law, human-rights atrocities continuously occurred, victimizing thousands of Filipinos particularly those who are critical of Arroyo’s “ neoliberal policies favoring big business and foreign capital” and of her government’s corruption, said Marie Hilao-Enriquez, chairperson of Karapatan.
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