UN Special Rapporteurs are demanding updates from the government of President Rodrigo Duterte regarding the ‘Bloody Sunday’ killings in March 2021 and other killings of human rights defenders attributed to government security forces. Duterte officials have yet to respond to the points raised by the UN rights experts.

The communication from the UN, dated 28 October 2021 but only made public 60 days later on 11 January 2022, was jointly signed by UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defender Mary Lawlor, UNSR on Extrajudicial, Summary and Arbitrary Executions Morris Tidball-Binz, UNSR on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association Clement Nyaletsossi Voule and UNSR on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms while Countering Terrorism Fionnuala Ni Aolain. They asked the Duterte government for updates on its investigations into the killings of five human rights defenders Emmanuel Asuncion, Mark Bacasno, Melvin Dasigao, Chai Evangelista and Ariel Evangelista during the simultaneous ‘raids’ conducted by the Philippine National Police and Armed Forces of the Philippines in various towns of Southern Luzon region in 7 March 2021. The operation has been dubbed ‘Bloody Sunday’, resulting in the killing of nine people, mostly trade union and environment activists.

The UN rights experts demanded explanations why no reports have been submitted thus far. They asked, “how is such failure compatible with the government’s international human rights obligations?”

They also expressed “grave concerns” on the continued attacks against human rights defenders under the Duterte government. “We are seriously concerned by the information which would indicate that these individuals have been targeted in response to their legitimate exercise of the right to freedom of expression, as well as the right to peaceful assembly and association.”

The UN Rapporteurs pressed the Duterte government “to take urgent and effective steps to ensure the safety and security of human rights defenders and to create an enabling environment for them to carry out their peaceful and legitimate human right activities.”

The five mentioned in the UN communication are part of the hundreds killed since Duterte came to power in 2016. Philippine human rights alliance Karapatan has documented at least 421 incidents of extrajudicial killings since July 2016, while there have been 504 recorded cases of frustrated assassination attempts.

On 14 January, the National Bureau of Investigation announced the filing of murder charges against 17 police officials for the killing of environment activists Chai Evangelista and Ariel Evangelista.