Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 1990
THE PHILIPPINES
The Philippines has a republican form of government with a
democratically elected president and a bicameral legislature.
President Corazon C. Ac[uino was sworn into office in 1986
after a popular uprising ended the autocratic rule of
Ferdinand Marcos. A new Constitution was ratified in 1987.
Congressional elections were held in that year, and
provincial and local elections in 1988 and 1989. The
Government again faced the twin threats of a Communist
insurgency active in many of the country's 73 provinces and
coup attempts, mounted by rightist rebels in December 1989 and
October 1990, that threatened further destabilization.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) number some 166,000
personnel. The largest services within the AFP are the army
with a strength of 68,000, and the Philippine Constabulary
(PC) with 42,000. The PC has certain law enforcement and
internal security functions. The AFP has established local
militia called Citizens Armed Forces Geographical Units
(CAFGU's) with 67,000 men, a 30-percent increase over 1989.
The Integrated National Police number 40,000. Philippine
security forces, often acting independently of government
control, committed human rights abuses in the course of
counter insurgency efforts.
The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed
wing, the New People's Army (NPA) , continued to commit
widespread human rights abuses in the course of their avowed
destabilization campaign against the Government.
A significant portion of the Philippine economy remains
agricultural, and most enterprises are family owned. Land
reform, a key element of the Government's economic strategy,
has bogged down in the face of resistance from powerful
landholding interests. The economy was struck by a number of
shocks during 1990, most notably a major earthquake and higher
world oil prices. The country also suffered droughts, floods
and typhoons, power shortages, inflation, and high interest
rates. These factors slowed the 4-year economic recovery and
reduced the 1990 economic growth rate to approximately 3.1
percent, a drop from the 5.7 percent growth in 1989. Nearly
half the population, which is growing by 2 . 3 percent each
year, remained below the poverty level.
Partial-year statistics from human rights groups indicate that
human rights abuses again declined in 1990. The majority of
human rights abuses in 1990 were committed in connection with
the continuing CPP/NPA insurgency, with its campaign of terror
and assassination, and counter insurgency efforts against
suspected NPA members and supporters by elements of the
security forces. The principal human rights abuses by
government forces were extrajudicial killings, disappearances,
arbitrary arrests, torture and mistreatment of detainees,
harassment of suspected NPA members and supporters, and
ineffective government efforts in punishing those responsible
for violations. The principal human rights abuses committed
by insurgents included extrajudicial killings, disappearances,
torture, mistreatment, ambushes, extortion, and harassment of
government officials and civilians. The Government undertook
various efforts to promote and protect human rights, including
instituting training programs, promoting greater discipline in
the security forces, and making human rights records a factor
in military promotions. However, there continues to be a wide
gap between government intentions and actual results. The
Acfuino Government has maintained freedom of speech and press,
assembly and association, the right of citizens to change
their government by democratic means, and worker rights in the
face of serious threats to overthrow the Government from the
left and right.
RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom from:
a. Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing
Political and other extrajudicial killings took place in the
Philippines in 1990, although such killings continued to
decline in number, according to data from both government and
private sources. The official human rights organization is
the constitutionally mandated Commission on Human Rights
(CHR) . Charged with investigating all alleged violations of
human rights, CHR has been criticized by local hiiman rights
advocates for being an apologist for the Aquino administration.
Several private groups, of which the Task Force Detainees of
the Philippines (TFDP) is the best known, also record
complaints of human rights abuses. The Government alleges
that TFDP is associated with the CPP and therefore overstates
the case against the Government. Nevertheless, incomplete
statistics from both groups clearly indicated that the number
of political killings again decreased in 1990. CHR logged 297
cases of extrajudicial killing through September compared with
492 in all of 1989. TFDP reported 59 summary executions by
government forces and an additional 18 people killed in
massacres (politically motivated killing of groups) for a
total of 77 people killed through September 6, compared with
368 victims in all of 1989 and 445 victims in 1988.
The identity and motivation of the perpetrators of many of the
killings outside of combat were unclear. In many instances.
Communist insurgents assassinated government officials and
civilians and interrogated and executed suspected government
infiltrators from within their own ranks. In other cases,
AFP, police, and CAFGU personnel killed civilians during
counter insurgency or law enforcement operations, or in
unauthorized or individual criminal activities. In yet other
instances, evidence suggests that private vendettas and
criminal activities were behind some murders attributed to
political assassins of the left or right.
Credible reports of killings by the military and police, as
well as a few by CAFGU' s and private anti-Communist groups,
continued. In one case, soldiers killed 19 members of a
family in the province of Sultan Kudarat in August in revenge
for the deaths of 2 soldiers. A prompt CHR investigation
concluded that the incident appeared to be a "massacre." The
military charged 17 men with multiple murder and arson. Trial
is awaiting a presidential determination of whether the case
should be tried in a civilian court. Although the Government
has made a commitment to identify and punish those
responsible, trials in such cases are still the exception
rather than the rule.
In many of the cases of killings attributed to the military,
it is difficult to determine whether the dead were combatants
or civilians. An example is an August incident in Bataan,
when the PC surrounded a suspected NPA safehouse; three people
died and four were wounded in the firefight that followed.
TFDP claimed the occupants were innocent civilians; military
sources alleged they were NPA members. Bataan was also the
site of several other killings that private human rights
groups attributed to the military, such as that of a
fishermen's organization leader, Eliodoro Dela Rosa. He was
shot dead in January by unidentified men in civilian clothes
while riding in a passenger jeepney. A CHR investigation into
the case has stalled due to difficulty in locating witnesses
willing to testify. Witnesses frequently do not come forward
out of fear of reprisals. Conclusive identification of the
perpetrators in other incidents attributed to the military is
nearly impossible to obtain.
There is evidence that military units sometimes executed
suspected subversives after interrogation. Others have died
in military custody under suspicious circumstances, including
Felipe Leonidas, a suspected NPA hit man, who was abducted in
late February and found dead in military custody a week
later. The military, which originally denied holding
Leonidas, claimed that he committed suicide. An autopsy was
inconclusive.
The CAFGU militia were responsible for about 10 percent of
extrajudicial killings, according to information from both CHR
and TFDP. The CAFGU' s, established in 1987 in order to
increase the Government's control over the local militia, are
screened by local officials and led by military officers.
However, variable standards for recruitment, inadequate
training, lax discipline, and assignment to remote locations
where supervision is lacking have contributed to CAFGU
abuses. Private ant i -Communist groups, which apparently work
in some cases with the acquiescence of, or in cooperation
with, local military commanders and which operate in many
areas despite government efforts to disband them, were
responsible for less than 2 percent of the violations reported
to TFDP.
Police and civilian investigators were responsible for several
extrajudicial killings. In June masked gunmen, later
identified as policemen, opened fire and killed two people in
a Quezon city funeral procession for a slain Communist hit
man. The accused claimed that they fired because a pallbearer
was about to throw a grenade; witnesses said they saw no
grenade and police fired the first shot. In other cases.
National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents and police
killed suspected narcotics trafficker Jose Oyson and several
other suspected traffickers. The officials reported that they
were forced to fire when the suspects resisted arrest or tried
to escape, but the frequency of such deaths calls operational
guidelines into question. CHR is investigating Oyson' s death.
While some killings and other offenses were committed by
soldiers and policemen who violated operational guidelines in
pursuing suspected insurgents or criminals, others were linked
to personal vendettas or criminal activity. For example,
kidnaping charges were filed against three Quezon City
policemen in connection with the abduction and killing of two
university students. The students were allegedly abducted to
prevent one of them from testifying in a murder case involving
the policemen. President Aquino has agreed to waive military
jurisdiction so that the policemen can be tried in civilian
courts. Four civilians also face charges.
The Government has repeatedly affirmed its commitment to the
rule of law, instructed its security personnel to respect the
rights of all Filipinos, and instituted regular military
training on human rights. To support the military's human
rights training, CHR provided trainers' courses, orientation
seminars, or lectures to almost 10,000 military personnel
during the first 9 months of the year.
However, abuses continued. Offenses are sometimes committed
by individual soldiers or policemen acting outside military
controls. In other cases, a commander of a unit may lead his
men in committing abuses. More senior military officials are
likely aware that these abuses take place, but there is little
evidence that they have taken effective actions to halt them.
Human rights complaints, some of murder and the rest of
lesser offenses, were filed against 172 military personnel and
173 police from January 1989 to September 1990, according to
the Department of National Defense (DND) . A number of the
cases are still under investigation, some are being tried by
general courts-martial, and the President has granted waivers
for other cases to be tried in civilian courts. (See Section
I.e. for further discussion of the military justice system.)
The NPA engaged in a pattern of terrorist activity in 1990 and
was responsible for numerous political and extrajudicial
killings, targeting military and police officers, local
-Government officials, and private citizens. NPA hit teams
often killed innocent bystanders. For example, in May an NPA
team assassinated Col. Reynaldo Dino, his daughter, and 2
companions in a bloody attack at a busy intersection in
metropolitan Manila; 11 passersby were also killed or
wounded. The NPA also claimed responsibility for the deaths
of a police chief and three of his children in Panay Province
in August, Police Brigadier General Tony Teves and his aide in
Davao City that same month, and military intelligence officer
Col. Saturnine Dumlao in Paranaque, Metropolitan Manila in
June, among others. From January to November, NPA units were
believed responsible fox assassinating at least 59 people in
Metropolitan Manila.
One analysis of NPA assassinations in 1990 showed that the
number of civilians killed approximately equaled the number of
security personnel killed. Among private citizens
assassinated by the NPA in 1990 were a university president, a
college dean and a prominent planter. The NPA also killed
local officials such as a vice mayor leading a relief team
after the devastating July earthquake. Mayor Javier Hizon, and
a number of .other mayors and village councilmen. Five
Americans were victims of NPA assassinations in 1990. One
American civilian was ambushed in his vehicle with his family;
the other civilian was killed, as many Filipinos have been,
for refusing to pay "revolutionary taxes" to the NPA. The
other victims included two Air Force enlisted men and a Marine
Corps noncommissioned officer.
Authorities in 1990 unearthed more mass graves believed to
contain bodies of people killed by the NPA in the provinces of
Agusan del Sur , Leyte, Sorsogon, Bataan, Masbate, and Quezon.
Most of the bodies in these graves, popularly referred to as
"killing fields," remain unidentified. However, former
rebels, media accounts, and other sources indicate that a
number of the victims were arbitrarily detained, tortured,
tried in kangaroo courts, and killed during internal
CPP/NPA/NDF purges. (The NDF or National Democratic Front is
the political arm of the CPP . ) The arrests of ranking
Communists in 1990, such as Antonio Cabardo, Antonio Tujan,
and Randal Echanis, caused Communist leaders to renew their
internal purge of suspected government informers, according to
information from a variety of sources.
Muslim opposition groups engaged in some violent activities
early in the year in an attempt to disrupt the February
election for officials of the Muslim autonomous region. For
example, the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) apparently
killed 12 people in January in Cotabato City when it ambushed
vehicles carrying peace negotiators. The MNLF denied
responsibility for another January ambush when a Swiss
official of the International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC) and his driver were killed in Maguindanao; the motive
was apparently robbery.
In many extrajudicial killings in 1990, it was difficult to
determine whether the motive was political, personal, or
criminal. Notable cases with unclear motives and perpetrators
were the January killing of a congressman's son and his two
companions in Kalinga Apayao, the May assassination of four
Manobo tribal leaders in Bukidnon, the August massacre of 14
people in Sulu, and the deaths of the Mayors of Malilig,
Isabela, and Barera, Maguindanao. Seven journalists were
reported killed in 1990. Several of them were apparently
targeted to avenge their exposes of local corruption. Robbery
or revenge for squatters' evictions were apparently the
motives in other cases. CHR is investigating the deaths.
Charges have been filed against a policeman and two civilians
in one case and against a civilian in another. Law
enforcement personnel are suspect in two other cases.
Labor strife resulted in at least 16 deaths in 1990, 6 of
which occurred during the latter half of September. Credible
reports indicated that management, rival unionists, the NPA,
and elements of the military or paramilitary groups were
involved in the various cases. The Government has apprehended
and tried suspects in several labor cases, but none of these
trials was completed by year's end. In one incident. Southern
Philippines Federation of Labor (SPFL) leader David Borja was
gunned down by unidentified assassins in Iligan, Lanao del
Norte in April. SPFL believes the military killed Borja, but
the allegation has not been substantiated. In another
incident, the NPA is believed responsible for the killings of
labor leaders Eduardo Federico and Ernesto Gonzales in Quezon
City, Metropolitan Manila, in December. The two men had
broken away from the National Federation of Sugar Workers and
refused to join recent protest actions by radical groups.
Civilian courts handed down convictions during 1990 in two
prominent cases of politically motivated killings. The
principals in the 1987 assassination of Local Government
Secretary Jaime Ferrer were convicted of homicide in June; the
judge sentenced one to 17 years in prison and committed the
second, a minor, to a rehabilitation center. In another case,
former Quirino Governor and Marcos supporter Orlando Dulay was
sentenced in January to life imprisonment for kidnaping and
murdering three Aquino campaign workers shortly before the
1986 election. Also in 1990, the trial of two suspected
killers of labor leader Rolando Olalia ended in acquittal when
a judge decided in August that the evidence was insufficient
for conviction.
b. Disappearance
CHR reported little change in the number of disappearances
from 1989 to 1990, while TFDP documented a substantial
decline. CHR received complaints concerning 44 missing
persons in the first 6 months of 1990. According to TFDP, 36
persons were reported missing from January 1 to September 6,
1990, compared with 83 complaints in the full year of 1989 and
141 in 1988. TFDP believes that military personnel or private
anti-Communist groups were responsible for the 36 missing.
Credible reports from other sources substantiate this
conclusion in at least some of the cases. Other abductions
were attributed to the CAFGU's, NPA, Muslim separatists, or
armed criminal groups.
In a few cases, military, police, or CAFGU personnel
apparently seized individuals and either detained them
incommunicado without charges (see Section l.d.) or killed
them. The military sometimes denied holding individuals who
had last been seen in the company of armed men believed to be
members of the armed forces. In many of the cases of
disappearances, the persons seized were suspected subversives
who belonged to groups that military authorities believe are
CPP front organizations. In one case of disappearance, Maximo
Mesina Jr. and Felix Dimitui, staff members of a peasant
alliance, were abducted in January. A PC sergeant has been
charged and is to be tried in civilian court. In another
incident, Allan Gitanes was abducted in April by personnel of
the army's 28th Infantry Battalion; CHR investigated the case
and recommended that charges of unlawful arrest and murder be
filed against an army officer and a CAFGU member. By year's
end, no formal arraignment had taken place. Some
disappearances of suspected subversives were apparently the
result of a renewed CPP/NPA investigation of its own personnel
as suspected government infiltrators.
The NPA was responsible for abducting a number of civilians.
In the most publicized incident, the NPA seized U.S. Peace
Corps Volunteer Timothy Swanson on the island of Negros in
June. Swanson was released in August along with Japanese aid
worker Fumio Mizuno, who had been held since May. The NPA
claimed responsibility for kidnaping the two foreigners.
Earlier in the year, hundreds of Subanon tribespeople who had
fled to freedom told a reporter that they were held hostage
for almost 4 years by the NPA in Zamboanga del Norte and
forced to work on farms under harsh conditions without
sufficient food. Documents seized from Communist safehouses
indicate that the CPP/NPA has a policy of forced abductions of
government officials and military personnel. NPA raids on
provincial towns during the year often resulted in the
kidnaping of local officials, soldiers, and CAFGU personnel,
generally followed by ransom demands. For example, three
CAFGU personnel and a policeman were seized in September
during an NPA raid of Mar abut. Western Samar , and two Benguet
mining executives were kidnaped in an NPA raid on a mining
operation in July. Muslim separatists are thought to have
carried out several hostage takings, such as the seizure of
government health workers in the province of Lanao del Sur in
August. Numerous other incidents were attributed to armed
bandits, particularly in Mindanao. The persons abducted were
generally released upon payment of a ransom.
The Government has strongly condemned politically motivated
disappearances. The President's Human Rights Committee
(PHRC), which includes governmental and nongovernmental
representatives, has developed new action plans to aid in the
identification and the location of missing persons. CHR and
military officials are actively investigating various
disappearances, but to date none of these investigations has
resulted in convictions.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
The Constitution prohibits torture and makes evidence obtained
thereby inadmissible in court. Guidelines issued by CHR in
1988 direct all law enforcement agencies and military elements
to avoid unnecessary force in investigation, arrest, detention,
interrogation, and other activities.
Despite constitutional and legal prohibitions, reports persist
that torture is employed by both government forces and the
NPA, although reports of torture and mistreatment appear to
have declined in 1990. CHR received 20 complaints of torture
in the first 9 months of 1990. TFDP received complaints
involving 149 people from January 1 to September 6, 1990, down
from 386 in the full year 1989 and 784 in 1988. According to
credible reports, government forces used violent methods, such
as beatings and water torture during initial interrogation.
Among those who complained of torture or mistreatment during
1990 were journalist Vilma Manzo, who was arrested in June,
and CPP/NPA leaders Vicente Ladlad and Alfred Simbulan who
were arrested in August.
The NPA also reportedly employs torture and harsh treatment,
including during interrogation of suspected government
infiltrators. Methods reportedly include beatings, food
deprivation, suspension by the wrists, and suffocation.
Physical punishment is prohibited by law in the Philippine
penal system, although it occurs frequently in jails and
prisons. Much of the brutality in jails and prisons is
attributed to other inmates rather than prison guards. Three
female inmates early in the year accused the Bureau of Prisons
Director of raping them; CHR is conducting an investigation.
CHR visits prisons to respond to complaints of mistreatment of
prisoners and to monitor prison conditions.
d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile
The Constitution requires a judicial determination of probable
cause before issuance of an arrest warrant and prohibits
holding prisoners incommunicado or in secret places of
detention. Detainees have the right to a judicial review of
the legality of detention and, except for offenses punishable
by a life sentence, to bail. An executive order requires
authorities to file charges within 12 to 36 hours of arrest,
depending on the seriousness of the crime.
Nonetheless, abuses continued. The number of arbitrary
detentions reported was up slightly from 1989, though still
down from 1988. CHR received complaints that 154 people were
improperly arrested or detained in the first 9 months of
1990. CHR assisted in the release of 73 persons during that
time period. TFDP claims 1,989 people were illegally arrested
from January 1 to September 6, 1990, many of whom were picked
up in mass arrests at disorderly demonstrations. Most were
released within the limits prescribed by law.
Security forces frequently disregard the law when handling
suspected Communist insurgents. Suspects are sometimes held
and interrogated for periods ranging from several days to
several months without legal proceedings. The AFP often holds
NPA suspects for several months on charges of rebellion,
releasing them only if no evidence is found. In order better
to abide by constitutional and legal requirements, the AFP has
sought to file charges against rebel leaders in advance, so
that they may be held legally if caught. These charges include
murder, kidnaping, physical injury, robbery, extortion, and
arson.
In July the Supreme Court in the case of Umil versus Ramos
affirmed the legality of arresting subversives without
warrant. The decision provides for arrest of suspected rebels
without warrant under certain defined circumstances on the
basis that subversion is a "continuing offense." It allows
charges to be filed without a preliminary investigation in the
case of a lawful warrantless arrest, and rejects writ of
habeas corpus petitions after charges have been filed. It is
too early to determine whether this decision will have an
effect on the number of arbitrary arrests reported. The AFP
Chief of Staff told a public forum in August that the AFP was
preparing new guidelines to prevent military abuses of
warrantless arrest.
In some cases people were taken in for questioning without a
warrant; in other cases warrants were produced after the
fact. In one such incident, authorities detained journalist
Vilma Manzo for questioning in June on suspicion of being an
NPA member. She was released after 1 day. In another case,
peasant leader Jaime Tadeo was invited for questioning in May
because authorities feared he would go underground once the
Supreme Court announced that it had upheld his conviction for
misappropriation of funds. Authorities produced an arrest
warrant against Tadeo a few hours later and filed a sedition
charge against him the next day for his leadership of a
demonstration a week earlier at the Department of Agrarian
Reform. Tadeo is now serving his sentence for misappropriation
of funds.
The criteria for release from detention by posting bail were a
subject of contention during 1990. This issue is closely tied
to what charges are filed. Those charged with rebellion or
subversion are entitled to bail because the maximum sentence
is 12 years, not life. Authorities generally charge suspected
insurgents with firearms possession, murder, or other crimes
instead of rebellion or subversion because the former charges
carry a possible life sentence. Captured Communists often
claim that authorities plant weapons on them to ensure their
continued detention. The Secretary of Justice in June
recognized that this may occur in some cases.
The Supreme Court in June threw out a charge of "rebellion
complexed with murder" against opposition Senator Juan Ponce
Enrile, on the grounds that rebellion cannot be combined with
any other crime. Enrile was accused of conspiring in the 1989
coup attempt. The Supreme Court had earlier decided to
release Enrile on bail. No leftist detained on rebellion
charges, including some of the so-called Leyte refugees, has
yet been released on bail under this decision. The contrast
between Enrile 's treatment in detention and quick judicial
action on his case compared to the treatment of similar
detainees raised questions about judicial fairness. The
Government does not recommend bail for senior CPP/NPA members,
on the grounds that their release would be a clear and present
danger to the community and that bail would not ensure their
appearance at trial. For example, authorities appealed the
grant of bail to Communist leader Rodolfo Salas, and his case
has been pending for 3 years before the Supreme Court.
Bail has traditionally been denied to military and police
personnel, who are under the jurisdiction of military courts.
Several hundred military personnel suspected of involvement in
the December 1989 coup attempt have been in custody since that
time. Only 21 of them have been formally arraigned. A
civilian trial court ruled in August that soldiers are
entitled to bail; the question is now pending before a higher
court.
Philippine authorities rarely use internal or foreign exile
for political purposes. However, President Marcos' immediate
family and some of his former associates are barred from
returning to the country, and his body may not be returned.
The Government suspects these persons of conspiring with
political and military opposition elements within the
Philippines to destabilize the country. In a 1989 decision,
the Supreme Court upheld the Marcoses ' exile, citing the duty
of the President to balance the general welfare against the
exercise of individual rights. The Government also cited
national security grounds when it revoked the passport of Jose
Maria Sison, the founder of the outlawed CPP, while he was
living in Europe raising funds for the Communist movement.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
The Constitution calls for an independent judiciary and
provides that those accused of crimes shall be informed of
charges against them and have the right to counsel. Trials
are public. Defendants are presumed innocent and have the
right to confront witnesses against them, to present evidence,
and to appeal their convictions. The right of defendants to a
lawyer is generally respected in the larger metropolitan
areas, but less strictly honored in the provinces, where
lawyers are often unavailable.
The weakest link in the prevention of human rights abuses is
the failure to prosecute and convict those accused of
violations. This applies to both civilian and military cases,
although the problem is more severe in the latter, where
impartial verdicts are hindered by the strong military
imperative to protect their own. Under a Marcos-era
presidential decree, the military continues to have
responsibility for the trial of military and police personnel
for all criminal offenses. The pretrial investigation is
carried out by the military or, in many human rights cases, by
CHR. President Aquino, in the wake of the 1989 coup attempt,
has vetoed legislation that would have repealed Decree 1850,
which grants military courts jurisdiction in criminal cases
involving military and police personnel. At the same time,
she endorsed a substitute bill which specified that offenses
that are not service-connected be tried in civilian courts.
However, the bill does not define "service-connected."
President Aquino has waived military jurisdiction over more
than 200 soldiers and policemen since 1986, including
defendants in a number of prominent human rights cases.
According to the DND, the President granted 40 requests for
waiver of military jurisdiction from January to September
1990, while denying one request because the offense was
service-connected.
In human rights cases before both civilian and military
courts, prosecution is often stymied by witnesses who are
unwilling to testify because they fear reprisals. Cases have
been dropped because witnesses have been intimidated and
prosecutors are not able to obtain sufficient evidence from
other sources to make a case in court. To address the
problem, CHR has a limited witness protection program in
place. Both the House and Senate approved legislation in 1990
to establish a more comprehensive witness protection program.
Ethical and legal lapses in the administration of justice are
common, ranging from attorneys' use of dilatory tactics to
corruption among some judges and prosecutors. Defendants
routinely bribe police and court officials or use political
influence. The conviction rate for criminal offenses is very
low; for example, only 3 to 5 percent of drug cases in
civilian courts result in convictions. Those charged with
crimes who cannot afford bail remain in jail until their
trials are completed.
President Aquino has criticized the slow delivery of justice
and uneqTjal treatment of rich and poor, and the Government is
making vigorous efforts at judicial reform. To speed trials,
the Supreme Court Chief Justice ordered in February that the
"continuous trial" system, which succeeded in drastically
reducing litigation time in a pilot program, be extended to
all of the nation's nearly 2,000 regional trial courts. Under
the continuous trial system, the judge is required to complete
a trial within 90 days of its inception, and has 90 more days
to render his verdict. Until this change, trials in the
Philippines were generally scheduled at monthly intervals and
often lasted for years. In the case of the 1987 Lupao
massacre, the military investigation of additional suspects
continued without result after acquittal of some suspects in
1989. Thirteen military men were convicted of human rights
violations from January 1989 to September 1990, according to
DND. Almost all of these convictions were for murder. Six of
the men were sentenced to imprisonment at hard labor for 8 or
more years, while the rest received other penalties. Cases
investigated by CHR that resulted in conviction include those
of Galma Arcilla for the murder of Catalino Belen, Severino
Dela Torre for the massacre of the Hilardez family, and Sagin
Monday for the murder of U.S. citizen Father Carl Schmitz,
among others.
A Supreme Court regulation also made the pretrial conference
mandatory in all courts in order to resolve more cases before
trial. Early indications are that implementation of these
regulations is uneven. In other efforts to improve the
judicial system, the Government has disciplined a number of
corrupt or incompetent judges and prosecutors. The Government
has been filling judicial vacancies promptly, with the
exception of lower level trial courts in the outlying regions
where it is difficult to find the requisite three candidates
for nomination. New judicial appointees receive orientation
training, and all judges are to attend continuing legal
education programs at least triennially. At the pretrial
stage, prosecutors are now required to complete investigation
of crimes within 120 days. Prosecutors who do not meet these
time standards have had their pay withheld. The latest
statistics available are for 1989, when national prosecutors
received 190,000 new complaints and disposed of 202,000 cases,
reducing their backlog from 24,000 cases at the start of the
year to 12,000 at year's end.
TFDP asserts that 602 political prisoners are detained in the
Philippines. Included in TFDP ' s list of political prisoners
are some senior CPP/NPA leaders implicated in planning the
assassinations of Americans and other terrorist activities.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence
Under the Constitution, search warrants may be issued by a
judge on a finding of probable cause. Restrictions on search
and seizure are generally observed, although raids of private
homes without search warrants are occasionally reported. The
Supreme Court clarified protection against arbitrary search
and seizure in two recent decisions. One reiterated the
strict requirements for determination of probable cause before
issuance of a search warrant. The second decision involved
"saturation drives" which occurred in 1987 when law
enforcement authorities searched an area without warrant and
questioned suspects. The decision prompted the executive
branch to release new guidelines regulating such operations.
The Government does not interfere with the free personal use
of the mails or other public communication systems, except
upon issuance of a court order during the course of an
investigation.
g. Use of Excessive Force and violations of Humanitarian
Law in Internal Conflicts
Armed combat between the AFP and the NPA, rightist rebels, and
Muslim separatists continued to have a major impact on the
civilian population. Civilians left or were forced from their
homes to escape fighting in a number of locations,
particularly on the southern island of Mindanao. The
Government's Department of Social Welfare and Development
(DSWD) reported 34,000 affected families during 1990. The
private Ecumenical Commission for Displaced Families and
Communities states that it confirmed 48 cases of displacement
affecting some 19,000 families during the first 9 months of
the year. Some reports of displacements appear to be
exaggerated. The number of people displaced declined from
1989 to 1990, in part because the AFP, preoccupied with
dissident military threats following the December 1989 coup
attempt, scaled back operations against the NPA.
When civilian displacements occurred, the Government made
efforts to provide shelter, food, and medical care to the
evacuees. The ICRC and various private groups also gave
assistance. However, the assistance provided was in most
cases not sufficient to prevent severe hardships among the
affected population; moreover, sanitation conditions in
evacuation areas were often poor, and the dislocations
compounded already severe health problems among
poverty-stricken civilians.
One notable displacement during 1990 took place near Pikit in
the Province of North Cotabato in Mindanao. Some 25,000
people fled their villages after the Moro Islamic Liberation
Front (MILF) attacked in January. Reports of massive
evacuations in two other locations—in Agusan del Sur where
Government forces pursued rightist renegade Colonel Alexander
Noble, and in southern Negros where the military began a new
offensive against the NPA in March—could not be confirmed by
credible outside observers who visited the areas.
Evacuees have reportedly been prevented by the NPA from
returning to their homes in some areas because publicity over
their plight is effective propaganda to slow counterinsurgency
operations. In other places, civilians have apparently stayed
in the area of impending military operations rather than
evacuate, out of fear of NPA reprisals. This reportedly was
the situation in Misamis Oriental early in the year, where
civilians remained despite military warnings of an upcoming
operation. Furthermore, the NPA has frequently carried out
attacks against not only military targets but civilian
vehicles and properties, such as the Alimodian Central School
in Iloilo which the NPA burned in April. Government forces,
for their part, have not always given civilians sufficient
warning of impending operations or ensured adequate care of
evacuees, although they have made increasing efforts to do
so. There have been some reports of AFP shooting, bombing, or
burning of buildings without adequate verification that the
objectives to be attacked were not civilian. Local commanders
in a few rebel areas have imposed strict controls on the
movement of people and food supplies in order to prevent the
civilian population from supporting the rebels. This was
done, for example, in Lianga, Surigao del Sur in Mindanao.
Some civilians in rebel areas have complained that they were
forced to sign documents stating they were surrendering
rebels; the CHR chairman in January cautioned the military
about this.
Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
There are virtually no legal restrictions on freedom of
expression. However, two incidents raised concerns about
limitations on freedom of speech. In April union leader
Medardo Roda was convicted of inciting to sedition and
sentenced to 6 years' imprisonment in connection with his role
in a 1988 antigovernment strike, and for antigovernment
comments to the effect that things are "worse now" than under
Marcos and "this rotten Government should be ousted."
Government oppositionists also cited the May arrest of Jaime
Tadeo in connection with an antigovernment rally (see Section
l.d.) as inhibiting free speech.
Freedom of the press is generally respected. There are some
30 privately owned daily newspapers in Manila and many more in
the provinces that cover the political spectrum and do not
hesitate to criticize the Government. CPP publications are
illegal but circulate clandestinely, and Communist views are
expressed in other media. Journalists have been able without
legal penalty to meet and interview antigovernment rebels,
including military mutineers and Communists. Like the press,
radio and television stations report views across a wide
political spectrum.
The NPA has reportedly made efforts to intimidate radio
station owners and managers into broadcasting Communist
propaganda. Several radio facilities and transmitters have
been damaged by insurgents. Stations that have broadcast
material provided by the NPA have been warned informally by
local military authorities that they risk being closed down if
they continue, but none was during 1990.
Security forces were also responsible for several incidents of
harassment or physical assaults against journalists. In one
such incident, Philippine soldiers and policemen violently
dispersed demonstrators at Clark Air Base in May, attacking
and injuring many demonstrators, including those who were
obviously members of the press. The AFP officer in charge of
base security was removed from duty, and law suits were filed
against the soldiers involved in the fracas. Another
well-publicized incident was the detention of journalist Vilma
Manzo (see Section l.d.).
Following these incidents, the Secretary of Defense, the
acting Armed Forces Chief, and the President of the National
Press Club signed in September a memorandum of agreement which
stipulates that journalists will not be arrested for
committing alleged offenses or violations while in pursuit of
a story, that a journalist may not be brought in for
questioning without his consent, and that reporters may not be
arrested within the press club's premises. It is too early to
evaluate the agreement's effectiveness. Libel suits against
journalists are common in the Philippines. Such suits may
discourage some journalists from commenting on sensitive
topics, but the judiciary generally favors the press in such
cases, and the number of critical columns attacking officials
and other persons remains high.
Publications from abroad, except those considered
pornographic, are not censored. Foreign journalists are able
to report freely and generally move about the country, even in
areas under rebel influence. Major foreign newspapers and
television networks have bureaus or representatives in
Manila. Critics have charged that the Movie and Television
Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) , whose mandate is to
monitor films and television programs for pornographic
content, has occasionally censored films in a manner that
suggests attempts to stifle political expression. For
example, the MTRCB halted the showing of a documentary
opposing the presence of U.S. military facilities, but the
President's office approved the film for public viewing after
deletion of libelous and obscene scenes. The MTRCB also
disapproved a television segment on renegade ex-Colonel
Gregorio "Gringo" Honasan. The mandate of the MTRCB is
questioned by many as a violation of free speech and freedom
of artistic expression, but it is likely to remain unchanged
because of strong public support for its role in controlling
the distribution of pornography.
Academic freedom is respected in theory and practice. The
Government does not censor subject matter in classes,
university publications, or conferences.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
Permits from local authorities are required for outdoor
demonstrations in public places and are routinely issued.
Nevertheless, rallies and marches are often held without
permits. Philippine law enforcers have been instructed to
follow a policy of "maximum tolerance," not dispersing rallies
held without permits as long as they do not disturb public
order. To prevent conflicts on college campuses, government
authorities and student leaders signed an agreement in
February that police and soldiers would not disperse rallies
on campuses while students would conduct their mass actions
peacefully and not disrupt classes.
On a few occasions, police used tear gas and other riot
control measures to disperse crowds that had become violent
and arrested demonstrators for illegal assembly or public
disturbance. Many of these demonstrations protested the
presence of U.S. military facilities in the Philippines.
Policemen and demonstrators were injured and arrests made
during labor rallies in October and November and during
various demonstrations protesting the presence of U.S.
military facilities. Typically, those arrested were quickly
released and not brought to trial.
Private, professional, religious, social, charitable, and
political organizations are permitted to affiliate with
recognized international bodies in their fields. The CPP,
which advocates the violent overthrow of the Government, is
outlawed, but nonviolent Marxist parties are legal.
c. Freedom of Religion
There is no state religion. Freedom of religion is fully
respected, and no official discrimination is practiced against
any religious group or its members. Although over 80 percent
of the population is Roman Catholic, the country's sizable
Muslim minority, the indigenous Iglesia ni Kristo and
Aglipayan Church, Protestant congregations, and other sects
enjoy full religious freedom. Foreign clergymen and
missionaries of many faiths practice their profession freely.
d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation
Filipinos enjoy unhampered freedom to change their place of
residence and employment within the Philippines. Movement
within the country is largely unimpeded; during 1990, both
military and rebel groups erected roadblocks in provincial
areas where they were conducting operations. Authorities also
established checkpoints in Metropolitan Manila during much of
the year in reaction to killings, bombing, and coup rumors,
The Supreme Court in June affirmed that checkpoints are legal
under "exceptional circumstances" when the survival of the
Government and lives of citizens are in grave danger. Some
law enforcement personnel use checkpoints to extract money
from travelers. Filipinos freely travel and work abroad. The
right to emigrate from and return to the Philippines is
generally unrestricted. Prohibitions on departure apply only
to those facing serious criminal charges in the Philippines
who might thereby escape prosecution. In a few exceptional
cases, the Government has revoked passports of Filipinos
outside the country on national security grounds (see Section
l.d.). The family of former Marcos associate Eduardo
Coujangco returned to the Philippines in December after a
court decision upheld their right to passports.
Although the Government does not accept refugees for internal
resettlement, it has provided first asylum for 7,000
Indochinese boat people in Palawan and permitted the United
Nations to operate a major processing center for 16,000
refugees in Bataan province. Approximately 25,000 refugees
passed through these facilities in 1990. The Government has
given first asylum to over 53,000 Vietnamese boat people under
the Comprehensive Plan of Action since April 1975.
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens
to Change Their Government
Citizens have the right to change their government through
genuine, periodic elections. The Constitution ratified in
1987 returned the Philippines to a presidential system of
government similar to that in existence from 1946 to 1972. It
established a bicameral legislature and an independent
judiciary as checks on executive power. Presidential
authority to declare martial law was curtailed.
The Philippines has a multiparty political system with free
elections based on universal (18 years and older) suffrage.
Filipinos are free to organize political parties as long as
they do not seek to overthrow the Government by force.
Political parties have traditionally been weak, nonideological
alliances of convenience; President Aquino refused to join a
political party. Democratic opposition to the Government is
widely tolerated.
Under the new Constitution, congressional elections were held
in 1987, provincial and city elections in 1988, and "barangay"
(village or ward) elections in 1989. The 23-member Senate is
divided among four different parties and independents. In the
House of Representatives, a progovernment party enjoys a 75-
percent majority. Most legislation is initiated by members of
Congress themselves, and debate is lively. Governmentsponsored
legislation is often criticized, amended, or
defeated. The next presidential, congressional, provincial,
and city elections are scheduled for 1992, and the next
barangay elections for 1994.
Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations
of Human Rights
Representatives of international human rights groups are free
to travel in the Philippines and investigate alleged abuses.
Government officials discuss human rights problems with
outside governmental and nongovernmental organizations
(including the United Nations), and routinely agree to meet
with those who visit. Amnesty International visited the
Philippines in April, the International Commission of Jurists
did so in Sep"* r.ber , and the Lawyers Committee for Human
Rights in Oct.>.'='r. Asia Watch issued reports during the year
on disappearances and on violations of the laws of war, while
the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights released a study on
militia abuses. Resident delegates of the ICRC monitored
prison conditions and assisted persons displaced by conflict.
The ICRC also joined with CHR and the AFP to hold courses for
military trainers on human rights and international
humanitarian law.
The constitutionally mandated CHR is charged with
investigating all alleged violations of human rights. CHR
considers human rights violations based on international
inquiries and referrals from nongovernmental organizations
(NGO's) as well as complaints filed locally by or on behalf of
victims. CHR has a total staff of 600 at 18 offices in every
region of the country. When a complaint is filed, CHR gathers
evidence and testimony from the complainant and the accused.
If CHR is able to make a prima facie case, it refers the case
to the appropriate agency for prosecution and monitors the
results. Victims and other witnesses sometimes refuse to
cooperate with CHR out of fear of further abuses if their
identity is known. In the first 9 months of 1990, CHR
completed investigation of 1,620 cases and referred 522 of
them for prosecution or administrative action; the remaining
cases are closed, archived or awaiting a final CHR
resolution. During the same period, CHR provided- financial
assistance to 312 individual victims or their families and to
1,920 victims of forced evacuation.
Philippine NGO's are also active in the human rights field.
These groups are generally unhindered in conducting
investigations and are routinely able to obtain safe conduct
letters from the Department of National Defense. Local
military and civilian officials have been uncooperative in
some instances, and the groups have occasionally reported
harassment, including death threats.
The best known local human rights NGO is TFDP, established in
1974. TFDP collects information on alleged human rights
violations through its local offices and publishes statistics
only on abuses it attributes to government forces. TFDP is an
outspoken leftist critic of the Government's response to human
rights violations. The only serious abuse reported against
TFDP workers in 1990 was the arrest and overnight detention of
a TFDP staffer and his wife. There is little cooperation
between TFDP and CHR. The Philippine Alliance of Human Rights
Advocates (PAHRA) and the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG)
are among other NGO's active in the human rights field.
Section 5 Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion,
Language, or Social Status
Women enjoy most of the same legal rights as men, but
Philippine law and custom continue to discriminate against
women in some respects, including a limitation on their right
to buy and sell property. Laws against abuse of women are
also inadequately enforced.
While criminal law prohibits violence against women, both
women and girls in the lower economic strata are vulnerable to
exploitation. Unethical operators may promise legitimate
employment in Manila or overseas, or arrange marriages with
foreign men. Some of these women end up working as
prostitutes or suffering abuse at the hands of their employers
or husbands. A measure signed into law by President Aquino in
June prohibits matching Filipino women for marriage to foreign
nationals by mail order.
Muslim Filipinos living principally in Mindanao, together with
non-Muslim and non-Christian groups located mostly in the
mountainous area (Cordillera) of Northern Luzon and in
Mindanao, constitute approximately 10 percent of the Filipino
population. These minorities hold public office at the local
and national levels and are employed in government positions.
However, some discrimination against Muslims and other
minorities persists. Philippine culture—with its emphasis on
tribal and regional loyalties—creates informal barriers
whereby access to jobs or resources is provided first to those
of one's own group. Another factor is that many Muslims
prefer to educate their children in Muslim schools, which has
deprived them of the skills required to advance in some
occupations. Muslims and other cultural minorities have not
always been afforded equal legal protection. The minority
groups have sometimes been deprived of their ancestral lands
by logging and mining operations and the arrival of farmers
from other areas.
In 1989 President Aquino signed separate laws for autonomous
regions in Mindanao and the Cordillera. The four provinces
which joined the Mindanao autonomous region elected officials
in February. In a January plebiscite on the Cordillera
autonomous region, only one of five provinces in the area
elected to become part of it, apparently due to ethnic
rivalries. The Supreme Court ruled in December that one
province alone could not constitute an autonomous region.
Section 6 Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association
The right of workers, including public employees, to join
trade unions is assured by the Constitution and legislation,
and is freely practiced without government interference
throughout the country. About 10 percent of the nation's
employed work force of approximately 23 million workers is
organized into over 3,700 trade unions, not including the 2.8
million workers who are memijers of the National Congress of
Farmers Organization (NCFO) . Although the NCFO is not a trade
union, it is informally allied with the Trade Union Congress
of the Philippines (TUCP) . Agricultural workers do have the
right to organize and strike.
Unions have the right to form or join federations and
confederations and to affiliate with international trade union
organizations. Most of the trade unions belong to relatively
small federations which are members of two broader trade union
groupings, the largest of which is the politically independent
TUCP, an affiliate of the International Confederation of Free
Trade Unions (ICFTU). The second largest is the CPP-dominated
May First Movement or Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) . Three much
smaller trade union groupings are affiliates of the Communistcontrolled
World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) . The
Federation of Free Workers (FFW) is a member of the World
Confederation of Labor (WCL).
Subject to restrictions in the labor code and emergency
executive powers, strikes in the private sector are legal, and
they take place freqxiently. The right to strike and the
status of employees in government-owned industries, however,
have not yet been clarified. Numerous strikes by public
sector workers occurred. Striking employees of government
agencies were threatened with suspension and dismissal, but it
appears that these threats were not carried out. Workers in
state-owned enterprises carried out strikes during 1990
without sanctions. However, the Secretary of Education,
Culture and Sports issued suspension and dismissal orders
against about 1,000 striking public schoolteachers and the
orders were carried out. The Committee of Experts (COE) of
the International Labor Organization (ILO) in 1990 questioned
the penalties imposed by the Labor Code on trade union
officers who have participated in illegal strikes as well as
other aspects of the Code. The Aquino administration pursues
legal efforts to resolve disputes and has rejected calls for
"no-strike laws," despite the disincentive that strikes pose
to needed investment. However, several measures enacted in
December 1989 and January 1990 expand the Government's
emergency powers to prevent strikes in "industries affecting
the national interest." The Government prevented a December
1989 strike at a major poultry producer by using these
measures. There were two prominent cases of dismissal of
labor leaders and participants in illegal strikes during
1990. In the case of the Philippine National Oil Company
(PNOC), most of the 550 workers who were terminated were
reinstated by the PNOC. In the other case, the Supreme Court
upheld the dismissal of 17 union leaders who carried out an
illegal strike at the Continental Cement Corporation. On the
local level, there were a number of cases of violence provoked
by unions or management. In some cases, the police or
military were called in to break down illegal strike
barricades, and on several occasions their attempts to enforce
the law resulted in violent clashes with strikers.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
Labor's right to organize and bargain collectively is provided
for in law, particularly in the Labor Law Reform Act of 1989.
Since 1986 the number of collective bargaining agreements in
force has increased from 3,112 to 4,098. In the same period,
the number of registered unions increased by over 10 percent.
It is an unfair labor practice to dismiss a union official or
a worker who is trying to organize a union. Nevertheless,
employers sometimes attempt to intimidate workers by threats
of firing or closure. Allegations of intimidation and
discrimination for union activity are actionable as unfair
labor practices before the National Labor Relations
Committee. There is a history of industrial relations
violence in the Philippines which worsened as a consequence of
the insurgency and counter insurgency.
Unionists continue to be threatened, beaten, and even killed.
The CPP/NPA, rival unionists, and hired gunmen, as well as
civilian defense groups and elements of the military, have all
been implicated in such violence (see Section l.a. regarding
reported killings of labor leaders). In 1989 and 1990, the
Committee on Freedom of Association (CFA) of the ILO
considered allegations of military or paramilitary repression
of members of the National Federation of Sugar Workers (a
KMU-member union affiliated with the International Union of
Food and Allied Workers' Association or lUF) in Negros
Occidental Province between 1986 and 1989. The allegations
include violent murders, woundings, disappearances, torture,
arbitrary arrests, and detentions. The allegations were
contained in complaints presented in one case by the lUF, and
jointly by the KMU and the WFTU in another case. The
Government replied that some of the allegations of human
rights violations were still being investigated, described the
machinery for accomplishing this, indicated that one arrest
cited in the complaint was for seditious activity, and cited
some cases in which the killings are believed to be the result
of interunion rivalry.
The CFA responded to the Government's reply in July 1990. It
rejected the Government's contention that the paramilitary
CAFGU units were only a spontaneous civilian response to
criminality and violent activities of the insurgents and urged
the Government to disband the CAFGU' s and abolish the Special
CAFGU Active Auxiliary (SCAA), which is made up of workers
recruited from private companies and plantations to assist in
civil disturbance operations.
The Government encouraged dialog among the military, labor,
and community leaders on the worker rights and human rights
situation. The constitutionally mandated Commission on Human
Rights (CHR), in cooperation with the Asian-American Free
Labor Institute, sponsored workshops on trade unions and human
rights and sought to establish local human rights committees
composed of unionists from every labor center plus the
independents and representatives of Government (including the
military and police) and the community.
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), through the
National Labor Relations Commission, has a quasi-judicial
system for hearing and adjudicating workers' claims. It is
usually slow, but no slower than other elements of the courts
and the bureaucracy. With the DOLE'S emphasis on mediation
and conciliation, the National Conciliation and Mediation
Board has helped reduce the high number of illegal work
stoppages
,
Labor laws and regulations are uniform throughout the country,
including in the several Export Processing Zones (EPZ's). The
rate of unionization and the number of collective bargaining
agreements concluded in the EPZ's is similar to that in the
rest of the country.
c. Prohibition of Compulsory or Forced Labor
The Philippines has ratified ILO Convention 105 which
prohibits forced labor, and it has the full force of law in
the country. There were no reports of forced labor being
practiced.
d. Minimum Age for Employment of Children
The Constitution prohibits employment of children below age
15, except under the responsibility of parents or guardians,
and then only if the work does not interfere with schooling.
It allows employment for those between the ages of 15 and 18
for such hours and periods of the day as are determined by the
Secretary of Labor, but forbids employment of persons under 18
years of age in hazardous or deleterious work.
The most serious violations of child labor laws occur in
piecework or contracting out of embroidery and other
garment-related production. Children have also been used in a
dangerous and ecologically damaging form of fishing that uses
dynamite. Child prostitution is another serious problem. The
Government has attempted to investigate and reduce violations
of child labor laws outside of the agricultural sector, but
the DOLE has deployed too few inspectors and other resources
to reduce significantly the number of violations.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
The official minimum wage in the Manila region at the
prevailing exchange rate at the end of the year was $4.23 per
day. Outside Manila, the minimum varies in each of the 12
regions, ranging from $2.69 to $3.86 per day. For
agricultural workers on plantations, the minimum wage ranges
from $2.52 to $2.88, depending on the size of the agricultural
establishment; $2.52 is the minimum for non-plantation
agricultural workers. Despite the minimum wage laws,
substantial numbers of workers (mostly laborers, janitors,
messengers, drivers, and clerk-typists) earn less than the law
stipulates. The average wage of workers in large cities is
close to the minimum wage, and in the industrial sector the
average wage is considerably above it. In rural areas, wages
often fall below the minimum wage. The minimum wage works out
to a monthly equivalent that is below the poverty threshold
figure established by the Government, which is based on the
minimum income required by a family of six persons. By this
measure, while there has been improvement since 1985 when 59
percent of families were below the poverty level, the
situation remains serious. In 1990 nearly one-half of all
families were still below the poverty line.
The 48-hour workweek is the average number of hours worked.
The legal maximum before overtime is 40 hours for most
industrial workers who work 48 hours per week. The law
mandates a full day of rest weekly. Employees with more than
1 year on the job are entitled to 5 days of paid leave. A
comprehensive set of occupational safety and health standards
is in effect, and the standards for protecting workers against
hazards of the workplace and harmful substances are relatively
advanced. Enforcement of minimum wage and health and safety
regulations is severely hampered by the fact that there are
too few professional labor inspectors, although during the
first quarter of 1990 inspections by the Department of Labor
increased by 14.6 percent over the same period in 1989. The
number of inspections carried out in 1989 was 60 percent
higher than in 1988, and inspections through September 1990
were conducted at about the same rate as in 1989.
