Global ambition

Critics may dismiss as a political circus the ongoing investigations at the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Others, however, see the probes as a unique chance to unearth the elusive truth and pursue justice in the mass executions carried out in the name of law enforcement when Rodrigo Duterte was in power.

Surely even the international community is taking notice. And the efforts to dig up the truth are reflecting positively on President Marcos.

The United Nations in the Philippines, for one, while seeing problems in the overall human rights situation that have persisted beyond Duterte, has noted improvements in illegal drug control under BBM.

UN Resident Coordinator Gustavo Gonzalez told a small media gathering last Tuesday that UN-Philippines is working closely with the government on two “important topics.”

One is continuing UN support for the peace process in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, particularly on decommissioning.

The Number One topic is the implementation of UN Human Rights Council Resolution 45/33, including technical cooperation and capacity-building for promoting and protecting human rights in the Philippines.

In July 2021, the Philippine government signed a joint program with the UN for reforms in six key areas: investigative and accountability measures; data gathering on alleged police violations; the establishment of a national mechanism for reporting and follow-up; engagement with civil society and the Commission on Human Rights; counterterrorism legislation and rights-based approaches to drug control.

This was during the Duterte administration.

In October 2022, four months into Marcos 2.0, acting UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Nada Al-Nashif reported the underwhelming progress on the joint program during the 51st session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland.

“We look to the newly elected administration in the Philippines for leadership in human rights and strengthening the rule of law,” Al-Nashif said, noting that “concrete progress on accountability is expected – to help bring about human rights reforms that will prevent recurring violations.”

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Gonzalez, who is also the