A LABOR group called on President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr. to include reforms in the Philippine National Police (PNP) in his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) next week to boost the country’s international reputation on human-rights (HR) compliance.
The Federation of Free Workers (FFW) urged Marcos to initiate a review on PNP’s performance to address the concerns raised by international bodies on alleged rampant human-rights violations in the country.
“These reforms are imperative at this time as citizens were being victimized by HR violations not only once but several times in the past,” FFW said in a statement on Thursday.
Earlier, Pennsylvania Rep. Susan Wild pushed for a bill, which will withhold aid being extended by the United States government to the PNP until it can comply with “human-rights
requirements.”
The country was also flagged by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) among the top 10 worst countries for workers due to the alleged killings and harassments of trade unionists.
Some of the violations, FFW said, were supposedly perpetrated by the police.
“The ITUC includes reports on police interference in the exercise of Freedom of Association including harassments, arrests and killings of trade union leaders,” FFW said.
It noted even the International Labour Organization (ILO) has taken notice of the issue and has a pending request to the government to allow in a high-level mission to investigate the said cases.
“As the new administration will lay down its plans at the SONA, FFW urges President Marcos to initiate organizational self-examination and police reforms at the PNP,” FFW said.
Marcos will deliver his first SONA at the Batasan Complex in Quezon City on July 25, 2022.
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