Shrinking Civic Space in the Philippines

by Mariefe Del Mundo

The political and social landscape in the Philippines became volatile after Rodrigo Roa Duterte was elected President last June 30, 2016. Democratic practices, human rights, peace and order and governance all showed signs of deterioration since he assumed office. His shock and awe approach against illegal drugs killed tens of thousands of illegal drugs suspects sans investigations nor trials in a span of 2 years. A study titled “Building a Dataset of Publicly-Available Information on Killings Associated with the Anti-Drug Campaign” by the Ateneo School of Government (ASOG),  De La Salle University (DLSU), University of the Philippines-Diliman (UPD), and The Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism (SCIJ) cited that “there were 22,983 possibly drug related deaths under investigation from July 2016 to May 21, 2018; 4,270 resulting from police operations during that period were acknowledged by the Philippine National Police (PNP).” Moreover, there is an alarming increase in the killings of human rights defenders and environmental activists, among them priests and leaders of indigenous people’s groups.

Duterte and his supporters publicly attacked or acted against individuals and groups who expressed dissent to his strict and uncompromising governance approaches, including the United Nations, the Catholic bishops, the Commission on Human Rights, human rights groups, journalists and even government officials. Senator Leila De Lima, who was investigating the extrajudicial killings related to the government’s war against drugs, was put in jail after Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre filed drug charges against her. Impeachment case was filed against Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales, who was investigating the President Duterte’s unexplained wealth. The President called Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno dumb after she cautioned Duterte against baselessly linking judges with the illegal drug trade. Following this, the Supreme Court (SC) unseated Sereno based on a quo warranto petition filed by Solicitor General Jose Calida, who belatedly questioned her qualification to the post. The SC’s act of granting the petition was seen as compromising its integrity and judicial independence as the court of last resort.

On the other hand, the government allowed the remains of former president and dictator Ferdinand Marcos to be buried at the Heroes’ Cemetery despite the criticism and outcry of martial law victims and those who suffered under his dictatorship. This was seen as a clear attempt to re-write history and purge the records of human right violations, corruption, economic disruption and widespread poverty during the Marcos regime.

On May 23, 2017, the military bombarded Marawi City in Mindanao, southern Philippines to wipe out local extremists which claimed ties with the ISIS and ISIL. It has created a serious humanitarian crisis in the area, displacing nearly 400,000 individuals. Following this, Duterte declared Martial Law all over Mindanao, which was extended indefinitely beyond the prescribed 60 days, despite the armed forces’ claim that the situation was already put under their control. The militarization in many parts of Mindanao then led residents to flee from their homes, increasing the displacement and humanitarian crisis in the island.

The atmosphere for dialogue and discussion has been damaged by the hate and intolerance dominating social media. Abusive statements from President Duterte, Former Philippine National Police Chief Bato Dela Rosa, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre and Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque appeared to set the tone for these. Even the Presidential Communications and Operations Office, particularly Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson, was often fact-checked by mainstream media for spreading fake news and distorted information on government programs and initiatives. Mainstream media has so far recorded 85 incidents of attacks and threats under the current administration. The Securities and Exchange Commission revoked the license of online news portal Rappler (Rappler currently challenges this in court); the publisher of the Philippine Daily Inquirer sold out its shares of stock in this major broadsheet daily; and major television network ABS-CBN was threatened with non-renewal of its license in 2019, all because Duterte and his supporters accuse them of biased reporting.

CSO participation in many government decision-making processes and bodies was diluted. In 2016, the government scrapped its Bottom-Up Budgeting Program, where a municipal-level council equally represented by CSOs and local government representatives agree on the national government projects that will be implemented in their communities. It was replaced with Assistance to Disadvantaged Municipalities (ADM) Program, with the mayor and 1 civil society organization chosen by the mayor having a say in identifying these projects. It was also the first time that working committees which formulate the administration’s Philippine Development Plan (PDP) did not include CSOs as members. In 2016, only one national consultation and a 2-day “rushed” online opportunity to comment on selected PDP draft chapters were organized by government to consult CSOs and the public on this plan. There was also no clear feedback mechanism about the results of these consultations. Moreover, the meetings of the Multi-Sectoral Committee on International Human Development Commitments (MC-IHDC) have been postponed indefinitely since September 2017 without citing reasons. MC-IHDC, is an inter-agency subcommittee composed of representatives from government agencies and NGOs whose primary tasks is to monitor, review and evaluate the Philippine’s compliance to international human/social development commitments (which include the country’s performance in the SDGs). The National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) also provided limited venues for basic sector representatives to participate in its programs and activities. The long-overdue National Sectoral Assembly of the 14 Basic Sectors has not been called by NAPC yet.

Currently, the government is putting on a fast track President Duterte’s desire to institute a Federal form of government by changing the Constitution. While federalism is seen to further decentralize power and resources to the regions, the motive, content and context by which this is being pursued by the Duterte administration is really questionable. The draft Constitutional revisions from the House of Representatives (HOR) propose to consolidate the President’s power and control over all of government – executive, legislative, judiciary and independent bodies – in an almost monarchical fashion. HOR wanted to change the Constitution through a self-serving Constituent Assembly where incumbent Congressmen will convene to rewrite the Constitution, instead of through a Constitutional Convention where delegates would be elected by the people. Further, with 70% of local government units currently led by political dynasties, a shift to federalism at this time will only feed warlords and control of resources by local political families. Charter change moves in Congress lost steam when Duterte ally Pantaleon Alvarez was ousted from his Speakership. The president’s supporters then revived Duterte’s earlier threat of a “Revolutionary Government” as the most definitive way to install federalism. In particular, Department of Interior and Local Government undersecretary Epimaco Densing III encouraged Duterte supporters to call for a transitory revolutionary government, in which the 1987 Constitution will be abrogated and the President can call for a switch to a federal government.

However, there are rays of hope. Many CSOs may have been initially silenced by Duterte’s shock and awe approach to governance. But organizing, mobilization and protest actions among CSOs and citizen groups calling to protect democracy and human rights are increasing. In 2017, several CSO networks, advocacy groups, people’s organizations, social movements and even opposition political parties are coalescing to form new broader associations for democracy. Among them were the Lakbay-Buhay (Walk for Life), a broad CSO coalition against the reinstatement of the death penalty; Movement Against Tyranny (MAT), which unites all Filipinos for human rights and against tyranny; Tindig Pilipinas (Stand Up Philippines), Alyansa ng mga Samahang Pantao (ASAP or Alliance of People’s Organizations), Coalition for Justice, Youth for Human Rights and Democracy and others. The street protests during May 1 labor day and June 30 State of the Nation Address of the president this year were among the largest in recent years, convening groups from a broad political spectrum. The millennials are also stepping up in regaining influence over social media and fact-checking fake news. Many youth groups also led or took active roles in organizing public forums and street protests calling for respect for human rights, democratic processes and participatory governance. What is going to be the tipping point? It is just a matter of time.

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Mariefe Del Mundo is the Advocacy Officer of the Caucus of Development NGO Networks (CODE-NGO), an umbrella organization of CSOs in the Philippines composed of 12 national and sub-national CSO networks representing 2,000 NGOs, cooperatives and people’s organizations all over the country.