Philippines: Human Rights

Publisher Marketing: The Philippines is a multi-party, constitutional republic with a bicameral legislature. President Benigno S. Aquino III, elected in 2010, began the fourth year of his constitutionally limited six-year term. The May 13 mid-term national elections and October 28 village council elections were generally free and fair, but independent observers noted that vote buying was widespread. Dynastic political families continued to monopolize elective offices at the national and local level. Authorities failed at times to maintain effective control over the security forces. Security forces committed human rights abuses. The most significant human rights problems continued to be extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances undertaken by security forces; a dysfunctional criminal justice system notable for poor cooperation between police and investigators, few prosecutions, and lengthy procedural delays; and widespread official corruption and abuse of power. Other human rights problems included the following: allegations of prisoner/detainee torture and abuse by security forces; violence and harassment against human rights activists by local security forces; disappearances; warrantless arrests; lengthy pretrial detentions; overcrowded and inadequate prison conditions; killings and harassment of journalists; internally displaced persons (IDPs); violence against women; abuse and sexual exploitation of children; trafficking in persons; limited access to facilities for persons with disabilities; lack of full integration of indigenous people; absence of law and policy to protect persons from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity; suspected vigilante killings; child labor; and ineffective enforcement of worker rights. The government continued to investigate and prosecute only a limited number of reported human rights abuses, and concerns about impunity persisted.