2023 Philippine Lobby Days
While the poor and marginalized sectors of Philippine society continue to suffer under the 2nd coming of the Marcos regime, Filipinos and human rights advocates across the United States are pushing to strengthen our campaign for the passage of the Philippine Human Rights Act.
From July 13-14, we will be lobbying in Washington DC and across the United States to ask Congress to 1) Pass the Philippine Human Rights Act and 2) for the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission to hold a hearing on the human rights situation in the Philippines.
To get involved in Lobby Days, sign up below!
Background
In February, an Interfaith Fellowship and Learning Tour, hosted by the International Coalition for Human Rights, further verified that the human rights situation in the Philippines is not only failing to improve under President Marcos, but in fact worsening. Following disastrous mechanisms set up by the Duterte regime – especially the Anti-Terror Law and the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict – which further institutionalized crimes against human rights defenders – the Marcos regime has done nothing to reverse the deteriorating human rights crisis. In fact, The Marcos regime has increased funding for the NTF-ELCAC which has served to increase red tagging and target civilians and community activists. This spring, the United States also upped military support for the Marcos regime, agreeing with the Philippines to establish 4 new US military sites under the expansion of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement and also agreeing to new Bilateral Military guidelines which calls for increasing US support and cooperation with so called “counter-terror” and “whole of nation” programs like the NTF-ELCAC.
The widespread grassroots support for the Philippine Human Rights under the Duterte regime displayed the unity & resistance of people in the US against US support for human rights violations in the Philippines. After the reintroduction of the Philippines Human Rights Act on March 7, it is now the time to re-invigorate & broaden support for the Philippine Human Rights Act and stay vigilant in pushing for the bill’s provisions.