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For Immediate Release
July, 22 2019, 12:00am EDT
Contact:
AIUSA media office,Email:,media@aiusa.org,Phone: 202-544-0200 x302
President Duterte's Call to Revive Death Penalty in the Philippines Will Only Worsen Climate of Impunity
President Duterte's call to revive the death penalty during his State of the Nation Address (SONA) will only worsen the country's climate of impunity amid the government's deadly anti-drugs campaign, Amnesty International said today.
"Extrajudicial killings remain rife in the Philippines. Talk of bringing back the death penalty for drug-related crimes is abhorrent, and risks aggravating the current climate of impunity," said Butch Olano, Section Director of Amnesty International Philippines.
WASHINGTON
President Duterte's call to revive the death penalty during his State of the Nation Address (SONA) will only worsen the country's climate of impunity amid the government's deadly anti-drugs campaign, Amnesty International said today.
"Extrajudicial killings remain rife in the Philippines. Talk of bringing back the death penalty for drug-related crimes is abhorrent, and risks aggravating the current climate of impunity," said Butch Olano, Section Director of Amnesty International Philippines.
During today's speech, President Duterte called on Congress to reinstate the death penalty for drug-related crimes. The use of the death penalty for drug-related offenses contravene international law and standards.
Duterte's endorsement of the death penalty comes weeks after the killing of a three-year-old girl in a police operation.
"The state of our nation is a state of mourning. We should not be burying our children amid deadly and ill-conceived police raids," said Butch Olano. "This speech was a missed opportunity to take stock of the tragic killing of three-year-old Myca Ulpina, and thousands of others. The President addressed the topic of drugs but did not confront the truth. The country needs an approach that delivers justice for the families of the thousands unlawfully killed, and effective health and social services for those who need them."
An Amnesty International report released this month, 'They just kill': Ongoing extrajudicial executions and other violations in the Philippines' 'war on drugs,' showed that the Philippine government's so-called "war on drugs" remains a murderous war on the poor, with rampant killings of mostly poor and marginalized people continuing without credible, impartial and effective investigations into them. There has been just one conviction of police officers to date, following the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Kian delos Santos in August 2017.
"Kian's killing became emblematic of the horrors of the so-called 'war on drugs', and the convictions of police officers were a small step towards the justice Filipinos deserve," said Butch Olano. "Now the country reels from the tragic killing of Myca Ulpina. She was three years old. If this tragedy does not move this administration to change course, it will be further proof of its wanton disregard for human life."
Myca Ulpina died in a police operation in Rizal province in late June, in which a police officer was also killed. The government claims her father used her as a human shield during a "buy bust" operation; the girl's mother claims that police burst into the family home without a warrant as the family slept.
The Philippine government has acknowledged at least 6,600 killings at the hands of police, but evidence points to many more being killed by unknown armed persons with likely links to the police. Amnesty International has found that the torrent of unlawful killings, many of them extrajudicial executions, may amount to crimes against humanity.
"The government keeps saying bereaved families should file cases before the courts if they believe the police acted illegally during anti-drug operations," said Butch Olano. "But Amnesty's research has shown that families are living in fear of reprisals from police if they dare to speak up. They are further unable to secure police reports, a crucial piece of evidence to support their allegations, and pursuing these cases is prohibitively costly for poor families."
"The administration's war on the poor does not end with the killings. It sends families and whole communities into a living hell, all to protect a cruel and repressive policy that is doing nothing to protect people from the risks of drugs," said Butch Olano.
President Duterte's SONA also failed to commit his administration to cooperating with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, which will deliver a report in June 2020 on the human rights situation in the Philippines, including unlawful killings in the context of the "war on drugs," as mandated by a resolution adopted by the UN Human Rights Council earlier this month.
"This UN probe offers hope to thousands of families who lost loved ones as part of the so-called 'war on drugs'" said Butch Olano. "As long as the authorities deny these families their right to justice, international pressure on the architects of this murderous campaign will keep growing."
Amnesty International is a global movement of millions of people demanding human rights for all people - no matter who they are or where they are. We are the world's largest grassroots human rights organization.
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Italy Suspends Defense Agreement With Israel Amid Mounting Public Pressure to Cut Ties
Millions of Italians have taken to the streets in support of Palestinians and around 3 in 4 say Israel committed a genocide in Gaza.
Apr 14, 2026
The Italian government has suspended a military cooperation agreement with Israel in response to its attacks against Lebanon in recent weeks, which have killed hundreds of people.
Italy's right-wing prime minister Giorgia Meloni announced on Tuesday that it was suspending an agreement with Israel that dates back to 2003 and involved cooperation between the two countries, which traded military equipment and shared technical data.
“In view of the current situation, the government has decided to suspend the automatic renewal of the defense agreement with Israel,” Meloni said on Tuesday.
It marks a dramatic shift in policy for Italy's government, which has until recently been one of Israel's closest allies in Europe. Amid the genocide in Gaza, Meloni has faced pressure both from opposition parties and from the public to cut ties with Israel for more than a year.
The relationship appears to have finally frayed with the events of the past several weeks, when Israel launched an invasion of Lebanon that has involved the displacement of more than 1 million people, the razing of entire villages, and the aggressive bombing of civilian areas.
Tension between the two countries hit a boiling point over the past week, when the Italian government accused Israeli forces of firing warning shots at Italian UN peacekeepers, which caused damage to a vehicle but resulted in no injuries.
Italy was also among several European countries that called for Lebanon's inclusion in last week's ceasefire agreement between the US and Iran. Meloni accused Israel of "disrespecting" the two-week truce when it launched the most devastating attack yet on Lebanon the day after the ceasefire was reached, which killed and wounded more than 1,400 people, including many civilians.
Though Meloni has been an ideological ally of US President Donald Trump, she has grown increasingly critical of the American president. On Monday, she condemned what she called "unacceptable" insults from Trump against Pope Leo XIV, who criticized the war in Iran.
Trump responded with his own shots at Meloni: “I thought she had courage. I was wrong," he said.
Meloni is also facing mounting pressure from her own people over Italy's relationship with Israel, which could loom large as she faces reelection in 2027.
Nearly 3 out of 4 Italians said in a September survey that they believe Israel's actions in Gaza constitute a genocide, and 59% said they wanted Italy to cut ties with Israel. During the fall, millions of Italians took to the streets to rally in solidarity with Palestinians and support the Global Sumud Flotilla as it carried humanitarian aid to besieged Gaza.
This anger has been seized on by the opposition. Last week, during a heated exchange, the Parliament erupted in applause after opposition lawmaker Angelo Bonelli took Meloni to task for "failing" to condemn or distance herself from Trump or Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"You are stubbornly short-sighted and fail to grasp where the world is heading," Bonelli said. "A world where the logic of war is dictated by two criminals."
Responding to Israel's attacks on Lebanon on Wednesday, Bonelli asked the prime minister: "200 people were killed as if it were nothing. What is your response? What are you doing? Do you have the courage to take action?"
Riccardo Magi, a member of the center-left opposition party More Europe, wrote on social media that by suspending Italy's defense agreement with Israel, Meloni had "finally realized that something is happening in the Middle East."
"After years of massacres by Israel against Palestinian civilians, in which our government simply decided to look the other way, today Meloni has suddenly decided to suspend the memorandum between Italy and Israel, as the opposition has been demanding for a long time," he said.
However, he cautioned that the decision was "not about a renewed humanitarian spirit on the part of our government," but rather "pure electoral convenience."
"It is not enough for us, and we believe sanctions are necessary against Netanyahu and his ministers, including a ban on entry into the territory of the union," he said. "The illegal occupation of Gaza, together with the wars provoked in the area without any consideration for the lives of civilians, is now a point of no return. Israel must stop."
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'A Sign of What's to Come': Super Typhoon Sinlaku Slams Into Remote US Islands in Pacific
The latest storm continues a trend of "unprecedented battering" by Category 4s and 5s for US territories.
Apr 14, 2026
Super Typhoon Sinlaku slammed into the Northern Mariana Islands on Tuesday, causing severe damage to the US-controlled territories that are home to roughly 50,000 people.
According to a Tuesday report from The Associated Press, the typhoon that struck the islands of Tinian and Saipan was the strongest storm recorded so far this year, delivering sustained winds of up to 150 miles per hour.
Saipan Mayor Ramon "RB" Jose Blas Camacho told the AP he was concerned about how the storm's severity was hindering local rescue operations.
"It’s so difficult for us to respond with this heavy rain, heavy wind to rescue people," he said. "Objects are just flying left and right.”
Marko Korosec, a storm chaser and weather forecaster, analyzed satellite images of the storm and predicted the Northern Mariana Islands would be hit with "violent, destructive winds, catastrophic storm surges, giant waves, and flooding rain."
"The damage," he wrote, "will be extreme."
An analysis of the storm written by hurricane scientist Jeff Masters and published by Yale Climate Connections projected that "damage from Sinlaku will be severe on both islands."
Masters also said Sinlaku was just the latest in what he described as an "unprecedented" number of Category 4 and Category 5 typhoons over the last decade, which he attributed to "a combination of natural variability and climate change."
"Beginning in 2017, the US has gotten absolutely hammered by high-intensity Category 4 and 5 hurricanes," Masters explained. "Seven have hit the continental US, one has hit Puerto Rico, and now two have hit the Northern Mariana Islands. That's as many US Cat 4 and Cat 5 landfalls as had occurred in the prior 57 years."
Later in his analysis, Masters pointed out that 10 of the 13 strongest tropical typhoons to make landfall in the last 80 years have occurred since 2006.
A Washington Post analysis of the typhoon published Tuesday noted that it's "unusually early" for a superstorm of this caliber to form in the Pacific, warning it "may be a sign of what's to come" this season.
"The season is expected to be anomalously active because of a burgeoning El Niño, which induces a warming of water temperatures," explained the Post. "That helps air to rise, generating more, and stronger, storms."
The Post added that Sinlaku is "the last in rare set of triplet cyclones that formed this month," which it said is an "unusual pattern" that is "also contributing to a burst of winds that is expected to greatly boost the odds of a super El Niño later this year, pushing warm water west-to-east across the Pacific."
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'The Constitution Is Clear and the Stakes Are High': Coalition Demands Congress Rein In Pro-War Trump
"From Greenland to Venezuela to Iran, President Trump has shown that he is willing to recklessly enter military conflicts without congressional support," noted an Issue One campaigner.
Apr 14, 2026
With the status of US-Iran talks unclear halfway through a two-week ceasefire, a dozen faith, science, veterans, and watchdog groups on Monday pressured key congressional committee leaders to swiftly reassert Congress' "constitutional authority over matters of war and peace," and put an end to President Donald Trump's new conflict in the Middle East.
"The founders were clear: Article I of the Constitution vests in Congress—not the president—the sole authority to declare war, fund military action, and oversee its execution," stresses the letter, addressed to leaders of both congressional foreign relations panels: Reps. Brian Mast (R-Fla.) and Gregory Meeks (D-NY), and Sens. James Risch (R-Idaho) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH).
Abigail Bellows, senior policy director for anti-corruption and accountability at Common Cause, one of the groups behind the letter, said in a statement that "the Constitution places decisions of war and peace in the hands of Congress because the American people deserve a voice before their lives and tax dollars are put on the line."
The letter acknowledges that "over time, presidents of both parties have pushed the limits of their constitutional authority, gradually eroding Congress' role in decisions of war and peace. Reasserting Article I authority is not about one president or one party. It is about restoring the constitutional balance that protects our democracy, our national security, and our troops."
Víctor Guillén, director of national campaigns at Issue One, which spearheaded the letter, said that "while presidents of both parties have stretched the boundaries of constitutional authority, we are especially concerned about the actions of President Trump. From Greenland to Venezuela to Iran, President Trump has shown that he is willing to recklessly enter military conflicts without congressional support."
"His impulsiveness has led to suffering for millions of Americans, from American troops who were wounded and killed to people living paycheck to paycheck, wondering how they will afford groceries, gas, or childcare," Guillén said of Trump. "Now that Congress has seen what the president is capable of, it must stop the president from repeating it."
"If Congress does not check him now," the campaigner declared, "the president will most likely start more poorly planned and pointless conflicts in the future—on Truth Social, no less—to the detriment of the American people and citizens around the world."
Trump and Israel's war on Iran has already led to thousands of deaths across the Middle East, plus damaged civilian infrastructure throughout Iran. Israeli forces have also ramped up attacks on Lebanon, including during the ceasefire agreed to last week.
"Every moment lawmakers fail to act weakens accountability and puts both our democracy and more lives at risk," said Bellows. "Common Cause stands ready to work with Congress to restore the proper balance of power and ensure that decisions about war reflect the will of the people."
Specifically, the coalition is calling on lawmakers to:
- Advance measures requiring congressional authorization before further military escalation;
- Conduct robust oversight of ongoing military operations and expenditures;
- Reaffirm Congress' Article I authority over war powers and the use of taxpayer funds; and
- Revisit and reform the War Powers Resolution to ensure that Congress has a meaningful consultative and decision-making role in any significant military deployment.
"This is a bipartisan responsibility," the letter emphasizes. "The Constitution is clear and the stakes are high."
The letter's other signatories are Democracy Matters, Faith in Democracy, Mormon Women for Ethical Government, Principles First, Project on Government Oversight, Protect Democracy, RepresentUs, Stand Up America, The Chamberlain Network, and Union of Concerned Scientists.
So far, nearly all Republicans and a short list of Democrats in the GOP-controlled Congress have blocked multiple war powers resolutions on Iran and Trump's other unauthorized military action. Another round of votes on Iran are expected this week.
US Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) also plans to force senators to consider cutting off the flow of Americans weapons to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government over its genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip since October 2023.
Specifically, on Wednesday, Sanders intends to force votes on a pair of resolutions that would prohibit a $151.8 million sale of 12,000 BLU-110A/B general purpose 1,000-pound "dumb" gravity bombs and related logistics and technical support services, as well as a $295 million sale of Caterpillar bulldozers along with related materials and support.
"US taxpayers have spent tens of billions of dollars in support of the racist, extremist Netanyahu government. Enough is enough," Sanders said Tuesday. "The United States must use the leverage we have—tens of billions in arms and military aid—to demand that Israel ends these atrocities."
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