PH human rights state ‘better’ now than previous admin — European Parliament

Five European Parliament members hold a press briefing in Makati City on Friday, February 24, 2023. INQUIRER.net photo / Daniza Fernandez

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines’ current human rights state is “better” than that of President Rodrigo Duterte’s term, European Parliament (EP) member Hannah Neumann said on Friday.

In a press briefing, the EP was asked how they viewed the country’s human rights as they visited the country.

“It is better than it was under President Duterte, I think we can clearly state,” Neumann replied.

“We clearly have the impression that everyone was very willing to discuss human rights issues with us, which has not been the case under the previous administration, and that there are a load of announcements that could indeed improve things if they were implemented,” she added.

The EP human rights subcommittee’s visit to Manila is from February 22 to 24.

They met with senators and Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, among other government officials.

The delegation likewise visited former senator Leila de Lima, who is in her sixth year of “arbitrary detention.”

The EP renewed their call to drop the charges against De Lima and free her along with other political prisoners.

De Lima was detained due to what she called “trumped-up” drug charges against her. The former legislator was a staunch critic of Duterte.

Further, the visiting EP members were also made aware of the ongoing extrajudicial killings, hence stressing that each case should be looked into and perpetrators should be made accountable.

JPV