The Philippine government has failed to implement structural reforms necessary to address the high incidence of poverty, lack of livelihood opportunities, inadequate wages, high inflation rates, and food insecurity leaving the Filipino people, especially marginalized communities poorer. These economic disparities persist, leaving a significant portion of the population unable to fully enjoy their basic rights to food, health, housing, work, and education.
A report submitted by In Defense of Human Rights and Dignity Movement (IDEFEND) to the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR) reveals that the government failed to demonstrate relevant responses to the chronic economic crises in the country.
According to Judy Pasimio, iDEFEND Spokesperson and Overall Coordinator of LILAK, poor governance, corruption and corporate-led development led to further suffering of marginalized Filipinos, peasants, workers, and indigenous peoples, especially women.
“Corporate-led framework of the government and mining are responsible for the PH environmental crises, and yet the Marcos administration is bent on aggressively extracting our natural resources and has fast-tracked the processing of new mining applications in ancestral lands”, said Pasimio.
Despite the seeming shift in political tone from Duterte to Marcos, their policies remain fundamentally the same. Joseph Purugganan, Focus on the Global South Philippines, said that while some legislative efforts have been made to address these issues, neoliberal economic policies continue to be the framework of the current administration.
“The government’s neoliberal policies and corporate-led agenda drives the continuing attack against land and environmental rights defenders. Human rights violations persist, and relevant stakeholders continue to be excluded from important decision-making processes,” said Purugganan.
The commitment towards progressive realization of economic, social, and cultural rights requires the government to create the conditions necessary to realize these rights.
“By failing to address, and being complicit to the persistent attacks against indigenous, land and environmental rights defenders from red-tagging to the criminalization of struggles, government is undermining the fulfillment of its obligations to protect and realize these fundamental rights” stressed Rose Trajano, policy advocacy officer of IDEFEND.
The Philippine government issued a response to the list of issues raised by the United Nations in 2024. However, Jhay de Jesus, iDEFEND National coordinator said, “these were mere enumerations of what has been statistically accomplished. There is a lack of a critical understanding of the realities experienced by the communities.”
On February 18 to 19, the Philippines will be under review by the UN Committee on ESCR in Geneva Switzerland, during its 77th session. Delegates from iDEFEND will closely follow the Philippine government’s report at Palais de Wilson and will deliver an intervention during the informal briefing.