Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, who heads the lead Philippine government agency in the fight against the pandemic, issued inaccurate statements and unreliable data, leaving Filipinos in doubt of his capacity to lead the country out of a public health emergency.
Hundreds of students and activists held a protest inside UP-Cebu grounds to call for the junking of Anti-Terror Bill but policemen forcibly entered the campus and arrested seven protesters.
The report also noted that the controversial Anti-Terrorism Act which replaces the Human Security Act of 2007 “dilutes human rights safeguards, broadens the definition of terrorism and expands the period of detention without warrant from three to 14 days, extendable by another 10 days.” Related story: UN report cites impunity for human rights violations in the…
The report noted that while many of the human rights concerns it has documented are long-standing, however, it has become intense in recent years adding that the killing of alleged drug suspects has become widespread and systematic as well as the killing of numerous human rights defenders. Related article: ‘Anti-Terror Bill worrying’ – UN report By ANNE…