(Eagle News) — Amnesty International described on Monday, July 23, President Rodrigo Duterte’s two years “in power” as a “human rights calamity.”
“President Duterte has presided over a disturbing regression on human rights that has left the Philippines a more perilous place than when he came to power,” the group said in a statement released ahead of Duterte’s third State of the Nation Address.
Rachel Chhoa Howard, Amnesty International’s Philippines researcher, noted that Duterte’s “disastrous policies have made the country a more dangerous place, particularly for the poorest Filipinos.”
For instance, she said “instead of combatting a difficult social problem, his ‘war on drugs’ has caused untold damage and misery.”
“President Duterte’s policies – which include directly encouraging unlawful killing – have seen thousands of people murdered with total impunity amid growing lawlessness, with extrajudicial executions in homes and on the country’s streets still happening on a daily-basis,” she said.
“As the killing continues, and with no sign of any counter-action at the national level, it is time for the international community including the UN Human Rights Council to mandate an investigation into the Philippines’ appalling approach to tackling drug-related issues,” she added.
The Philippine National Police has denied the killings of drug suspects were “state-sanctioned.”
It said some drug suspects died because they resisted and attacked authorities who were out to arrest them.
