Author: observer

Two days ago, IPON project coordinator Dominik Hammann and Mr. Patzelt from the German Parliament had the chance to visit the House of Representatives and the Senate in Manila. At the Congress they had the chance to meet congresswoman Cheryl Deloso-Montalla and other representatives of the of the Human Rights Committee in order to discuss the effects of the possible ratification of the House Bill Number 1 („Restoration of the Death Penalty) and House Bill Number 2… („Lowering of the Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility“) in regards of human rights. Later on Mr. Patzelt and Dominik Hamman also had the chance to meet the senators Leila de Lima and Risa Hontiveros to talk about the importance of independant human rights advocacy and to discuss the latest alarming developments in regards to President Duterte’s War on Drugs and Extrajudicial killings. On the same day our partner Evangeline Silva had…

Another productive day for the IPON-Delegation Trip and its partners. Today we had the chance to meet with the Assistant Secretary Elmer Distor of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in order to discuss current human rights violations in Negros. Our partners Zara Alvarez, Clarizza Singson Dagatan from KARAPATAN and Evangeline Silva, as well as the German politican Martin Patzelt and various members of IPON had the chance to engage into an open dialogue with the objective to work cooperatively on the implementation of the Agrarian Reform. Similar productive debates were held on a later occasion at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) with Gina Lopez who actively discussed with our partners future strategies to strengthen human rights cases.

Yesterday we had the chance to participate at a round table which was hosted by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Manila. Human rights defenders (HRD) from various sectors had the chance to present their cases and to discuss the current human rights situation in the Philippines. A focal point in the discussion at the round table concerned the question which challenges human rights defenders are facing under the new administration of president Duterte.… After these constructive debates and with the newly gained impressions Mr. Patzelt and Mr. Hasper from the German Embassy attended a meeting with the Secretary of the Interior and Local Government Ismael Sueno at the Ministry of the Interior. The day ended with a visit of our partners Zara Alvarez, Cucoy Tulawie and Evangeline Silva at the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines The talks with the chairman of the Commission of…

As every year, IPON has organized an annual Delegation Trip which started two days ago. In the late hours of Friday evening, Martin Patzelt, member of the German parliament and special rapporteur of Southeast Asia for the parliamentary committee for human rights, arrived in Metro Manila. From October 8th until October 16th, Mr. Patzelt takes part in our annual delegation trip to meet different Filipino key players regarding the matters of human rights. During this week, Mr. P…atzelt will be accompanied by three of our partners. This special occasion gives the Human Rights defenders the opportunity to share their personal experiences with Mr. Patzelt as well as to speak up for their cases in official meetings with central governmental stakeholders. But there is still a lot to do, as Dominik, our country coordinator, explains in the video below.  https://www.facebook.com/ipon.philippines/videos/1458362640847648/ While the preparations went on in Manila, two IPON…