Manila: Over 1,000 protesters marched in the Philippines capital on Monday and burned an effigy of President Rodrigo Duterte on International Human Rights Day.
During the protest, civil society groups demanded an end to Duterte’s war on drugs, labour organizations asked for an increase in salaries, indigenous Lumads sought martial law to be lifted in the south and health groups demanded free hospitalization, Efe news reported.
The protesters also called for the release of political prisoners and re-starting of peace talks between the government and rebel groups.
Hundreds more protested during marches in other cities around the country.
Meanwhile, the Duterte administration said it would continue its campaign against crime, corruption, violence, and drugs while “advancing human rights”.
“To protect the lives of the innocent law-abiding citizens of the country, this administration remains unrelenting in its crusade against criminality, corruption, terrorism, insurgency, and the proliferation of illegal drugs that destroy families and the future of the young,” said Human Rights Committee chairman Salvador Medialdea in a statement.
Rights groups have said Duterte’s war on drugs has claimed the lives of more than 12,000 people since he took office.
Monday marked the global observance of the 70th year of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
–IANS
