Human rights group assails Duterte supporters for bullying ICC witnesses, spreading paid ads

Human rights group, The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) denounced the threats and harassments being experienced by drug war victims’ families and the spread of online narratives that favor the troubled former President Rodrigo Duterte.

The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines called on the ICC to deny Duterte an interim release for the safety of the families of victims of the bloody war on drugs. [File/ Screenshot photo courtesy ICC]

ICHRP said in a statement Wednesday that “these are clearly funded by Duterte camp” to discourage witnesses from testifying in the ICC.

The rights group believes this is a tactic to “sway public opinion by playing the victim card, when in fact, he was the mastermind of a brutal and bloody war on the poor that claimed 30,000 lives under his presidency.”

It cited the report of Rise Up for Life and Rights, an organization of families of victims of the drug war, which noted a sharp increase in online hate speech against their members since the beleaguered Duterte was arrested by ICC, March 11.

The rights watchdog lambasted the Duterte camp for resorting to “dirty tricks to try to derail the proceedings and divert the people’s attention from the real issue, which is accountability.”

Vice President Sara Duterte, daughter of incarcerated FPRRD, continuing to lead the efforts to defend her father and to call for him to be brought home through public activities with Diehard Duterte Supporters in Europe. A human rights group railed against a well-oiled campaign machinery of the Duterte camp to bully victims’ families and spread propaganda depicting the troubled former president as “victim”. [Photo from the official Facebook page of Inday Sara Duterte]

For instance, the Duterte camp paid advertisements in Facebook “to manipulate online discourse on the ICC arrest of the former president”, according to data forensics group, The Nerve.

It added that “in one particular Facebook page, the paid ads budget ranged from P1,000 to P1,499 (USD17.44 to USD26.15).

ICHRP said that the Duterte camp “manipulated networks by embedding political propaganda in entertainment communities and fan pages.”

Former Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, who is now seeking asylum from Netherlands to avoid going home and facing the House of Representatives, and Senator Robinhood Padilla, who both continue to remain in The Hague to "speak" for the incarcerated former President Duterte. [Photo by E L Kotte].

It explained that Duterte supporters “used vlogger network to amplify its content, turning social media into a political tool,” and that the “most expensive ads reached over 1million viewers, with messages synchronized across platforms.”

The rights group mentioned the false narratives which the Duterte loyalists spread include the “unfair treatment of Duterte during his arrest and targeted online attacks on victims’ families, their legal counsels and those supportive of the movement for justice.” 

ICHRP also called on the international community to support the victims by mounting mass actions and issuing statements condemning the harassments and reiterating the demand of families for justice.

The rights watchdog also urged ICC to deny Duterte an interim release “to ensure the safety of the victims’ families and to prevent him from interfering with the investigation.”  

Pinoy Portal Europe 

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