Newsbrief: Physical punishment & human rights abuse in the midst of a pandemic
by Quinn Schoff
The main island of Luzon in the Philippines is currently under lockdown due to covid-19, but local officials are subjecting those caught breaking lockdown rules to abusive and humiliating punishments, according to Vice.
Some of the punishments consist of things such as forcing people to sit in the midday sun or locking them in cramped dog cages. These punishment tactics are similar to the ones being used in countries such as India and China to enforce their covid-19 lockdowns.
Several reports of alleged abuse in the Philippines have moved officials from the organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) to call for local officials to respect the rights of those breaking the lockdown and to investigate excess in policing the restrictions. Phil Robertson, the deputy Asia director for HRW, said, police and local officials should respect the rights of those they arrest for violating curfew and other public health regulations, which can be done while still allowing the Philippines government to take appropriate measures to combat COVID-19.”
(Photo: Vice news)
In the city of Santa Cruz, Frederick Ambrocio, a local official, allegedly locked a group of five people in a dog cage and at one point threatened to shoot them. Ambrocio, who later apologized on Facebook, is facing charges according to philstar.
Another case of abuse includes officials forcing people arrested for breaking the lockdown to sit in the middle of a basketball court in the midday sun. Police also killed a man who evaded a lockdown checkpoint after police say they exchanged gun fire with each other.
Since President Rodrigo Duterte put the main Island of Luzon under lockdown on March 16th, police have already arrested hundreds of people for violating the lockdown rules.
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Quinn Schoff is trying to form a daily routine which is a challenge, they bake and cook to help reduce the stress of what’s going on.
