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Pia Lee-Brago - The Philippine Star
February 21, 2025 | 12:00am
During the review of the Philippines’ seventh periodic report on the implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights held in Geneva on Feb. 19, the UN committee asked about attacks on human rights defenders, indigenous land rights and the government’s drug use policies.
AFP / Daniel Slim
MANILA, Philippines — Over 60 percent of regions in the country have been declared “drug cleared” and over 40 percent are now “drug-free,” the government told the United Nations committee on economic, social and cultural rights.
During the review of the Philippines’ seventh periodic report on the implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights held in Geneva on Feb. 19, the UN committee asked about attacks on human rights defenders, indigenous land rights and the government’s drug use policies.
Ludovic Hennebel, committee vice-chair and member of the task force for the Philippines, inquired about plans to decriminalize drugs for personal use and implement alternatives to imprisonment for drug users.
He also asked what measures were in place to put an end to the “war on drugs” and to provide reparations to victims.
In response, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Undersecretary for policy and planning Rosemarie Edillon, head of delegation, said economic development, resilience building and poverty reduction are central to the government’s human rights agenda.
Regarding drug policies, the delegation said the government has been adopting a humanitarian approach to drug use and rehabilitation. Many drug users were treated in communities rather than in rehabilitation centers. Persons who participated in rehabilitation programs were removed from criminal offender lists.
The state’s campaign against illegal drugs was now geared toward rehabilitation and reintegration of drug users. It also reported about the House of Representatives’ investigation on extrajudicial killings occurring in the context of the war on drugs, and that the government had decided to amend the penal code to increase penalties for extrajudicial killings.
Former president Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody war on drugs saw thousands of suspects killed in controversial police operations, and is now being investigated by the International Criminal Court.
