(UPDATE: Our statement was covered by two Philippine news outlets, Rappler and GMA.)

Senator Trillanes at our March 2018 event (photo courtesy Joey Tranchina)

The Philippine court system failed a crucial test today, and human rights may be the gravest casualty. Last night (mid-afternoon Philippines time) a court ordered the arrest of Senator Antonio Trillanes, a fierce critic of President Rodrigo Duterte and his drug war which has claimed tens of thousands of lives. Trillanes is free on bail, but believes he is likely to be jailed in an upcoming court hearing in a related case.

Trillanes is the second opposition senator to face charges. In a similar situation, Senator Leila de Lima was incarcerated a year and a half ago on unsupported drug charges, half a year after President Duterte promised to "destroy" her. The case against de Lima was brought shortly after she had a confessed former member of Duterte's "Davao Death Squad" testify in the Justice Committee, one of two former DDS members to go public. Duterte promised a year ago to also "destroy" Senator Trillanes.

The legal pretexts for the administration's action against Trillanes have drawn broad criticism in the Philippine legal and human rights communities. Trillanes was the recipient with others of an amnesty grant in 2011 by then President Benigno Aquino (the equivalent of a presidential clemency or pardon in the US). He was a leader of a famous military mutiny in which soldiers in the "Magdalo" group occupied a building to protest corruption in the Gloria Arroyo administration, and less-covered issues including illegal military attacks on Filipino Muslims.

Trillanes served seven years before the amnesty, getting elected to the Senate the first time while still jailed. Arroyo turned out to be even more corrupt than the Magdalo soldiers had claimed, and was caught engaging in election-rigging in not one but two elections, but is now Speaker of the Philippine House of Representatives.

The Duterte administration issued a proclamation three weeks ago declaring Trillanes' amnesty to be revoked -- a wholly unconstitutional move, according to most observers -- claiming that he failed to submit an application or admit guilt. Despite news footage showing him turning in the application, an affidavit by the military official administering the amnesty process attesting that there was an application, and a certificate of amnesty granted by the government, Judge Elmo Alameda insisted that because Trillanes could not find a copy of the application, he couldn't prove that he had complied with the amnesty's conditions. Alameda was similarly unmoved by the point that it was the military that was obligated to keep track of the application, not Trillanes, and that it could have been removed from the files as part of a conspiracy by the administration.

StoptheDrugWar.org condemns the Duterte administration's blatantly political attack on Senator Antonio Trillanes. We further note that the day on which the president's arrest order was initially made public, was the same day Trillanes was leading a Senate hearing on government contracts issued to a firm owned by the family of Duterte Solicitor General Jose Calida. Evidence came out demonstrating that the amnesty revocation was initiated by Calida.

We are also concerned that the amnesty revocation threat can now be held over other members of the Magdalo movement, one of whom, Rep. Gary Alejano, is a likely candidate for the Senate as part of the opposition coalition, of which the Magdalo Party is an important plank. The congressional election in the Philippines is scheduled for May 2019, which is also when Trilllanes' term in the Senate expires.

Senator Trillanes joined our March 2018 event at the Commission on Narcotic Drugs annual meeting in Vienna, where he presented administration data suggesting that extrajudicial killings in President Duterte's drug war may exceed 20,000. Perversely, the Senator observed, the administration listed these killings among its "2017 Accomplishments."

"StoptheDrugWar.org is focused on the still-unfolding human rights crisis in the Philippines, and Senator Trillanes is one of a handful of leaders willing to aggressive confront that crisis. Whether he remains free to speak and campaign, or instead joins Senator de Lima as a symbol behind bars, we will continue to support his efforts," said StoptheDrugWar.org Executive Director David Borden.

"Trillanes told us in Vienna he expected political prosecutions to increase in pace during the second half of this year," Borden continued. "We are saddened that he is personally a victim of this. But it has already further mobilized the already energized Philippine opposition to Duterte, and it will also focus even greater world attention onto Duterte's crimes and depredations."

StoptheDrugWar.org is a US-based NGO with a focus on international drug policy, and which has advocated on the Philippines human rights situation since early 2017. Our educational nonprofit DRCNet Foundation has been in Special Consultative Status with the UN Economic and Social Council since 2016.

Footage of Senator Trillanes' presentation in Vienna is online at https://stopthedrugwar.org/philippines#vienna2018.

- END -

Ominously, a "Duterte effect" in the region has led to extrajudicial drug war killings in Indonesia and Bangladesh, and high-level officials in Malaysia and Turkey have also called for killings or other extrajudicial violence. In a move that has comforted human rights violators everywhere, President Trump has praised Duterte's drug war, twice.

"There are 3 million drug addicts (in the Philippines). I'd be happy to slaughter them. If Germany had Hitler, the Philippines would have..." [points at himself]
- Rodrigo Duterte, September 2016 (source: Reuters)

We at StoptheDrugWar.org ask your help in stopping this drug war tragedy that threatens global human rights:

• Please make a generous donation to support our work, which at this time focuses primarily on the Philippines situation.
• Visit https://stopthedrugwar.org/philippines to learn more about that work, in which we have collaborated with the highest-profile opposition leaders in the Philippines – the pro-Duterte forces have taken notice.
• Please write Congress in support of the S. 1055, the bipartisan "Philippines Human Rights Accountability and Counternarcotics Act of 2017."
• Please write to us if you'd like to get more involved, as we craft the next and bigger stage of this campaign.

Watch the powerful video from Senator Risa Hontiveros of the Philippines, sent for our event at the UN in New York last month:

Thank you for your support!

Sincerely,

David Borden, Executive Director
StoptheDrugWar.org
Washington, DC

P.S. Our Philippines campaign flows from work we're doing at the United Nations seeking reform of the UN drug treaties to clear the way more for legalization, while advocating drug policies based on health and human rights. Visit https://stopthedrugwar.org/global to learn more about that side of our work.

Attorneys General in New Jersey and Vermont lay down the law on pot, Oklahomans rally against restrictive medical marijuana rules, Filipino President Duterte vows more drug war, and more.

The bloody-handed Philippines president vows even more carnage in his war on drug users and sellers. (Creative Commons)

New Jersey Attorney General Says Jersey City Can't Decriminalize. State Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said last Friday that Jersey City doesn't have the power to decriminalize marijuana. The move came a day after the city decriminalized possession by decree. Grewal wrote that his office "takes no position" on marijuana legalization or decriminalization, "rather, I write to advise that, as a municipal prosecutor, you do not have the legal authority to decriminalize marijuana or otherwise refuse to criminally prosecute all marijuana-related offenses in the municipal courts of Jersey City," Grewal writes. "Accordingly, I am instructing you that your memorandum is void and has no effect."

Vermont Attorney General Rules That Businesses Can't "Give" Marijuana in Connection with Other Purchases. State Attorney General T.J. Donovan provided guidance Monday to clarify that trying to get around the state's no marijuana sales legalization law by providing pot as a "gift" when purchasing some other item remains illegal. The move came after some Burlington businesses began a delivery service that "gifted" marijuana with the purchase of a courier service. They had argued that they were operating under a loophole in the law, but Donovan disagreed.

Medical Marijuana

Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Advocates Rally Against Emergency Rules. Medical marijuana supporters rallied Saturday at the state capitol amid frustration over emergency rules promulgated by the state Board of Health and said they would be back again Tuesday. The board on July 10 approved emergency rules that would, among other things, ban the sale of smokable marijuana products and require a pharmacist to be on site at dispensaries. Last week, Attorney General Mike Hunter (R) said the board overstepped its authority, and the board now says it will meet again soon to reevaluate the proposed rules.

International

British Poll Finds First Majority for Marijuana Legalization. For the first time, a public opinion in the United Kingdom shows a majority in favor of marijuana legalization. A new BMG Research poll had 22% strongly supporting legalization and another 29% somewhat supporting legalization, bringing total support to 51%. Some 35% were opposed, and 14% had no opinion. A second question regarding decriminalization yielded a similar 52% approval.

Mexican Opium Growers Ask AMLO to Legalize Cultivation. A group of community leaders from the poppy-producing region of Guerrero state has appealed to president-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) to legalize the cultivation of opium poppies for use in the manufacture of legal pharmaceutical drugs. "As a priority, we are seeking the legalization of the cultivation of poppies for medicinal purposes so that farmers in the Sierra are no longer criminalized," Arturo López Torres, a member of a local union that advocates for economic and social development, told the newspaper El Universal. The growers also want AMLO to clarify whether poppy farmers who have been jailed for growing the crop would qualify under the government's proposed amnesty law.

Philippines' Duterte Vows to Continue "Relentless and Chilling" Drug War. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday vowed to continue his bloody war on drugs, telling a joint session of Congress the fight would be as "relentless and chilling" as it has been during his first two years in power, which have seen thousands of people killed. He also took a swipe at critics, saying "your concern is human rights, mine is human lives." But not, apparently, the lives of accused drug users or sellers.

An Oklahoma marijuana legalization initiative is in the midst of signature gathering, the DEA announces new regulations aimed at the opioid crisis, Sri Lanka cites the Philippines' "success" as it moves to resume hanging drug offenders, and more.

Oklahoma Legalization Initiative Has a Month Left to Meet Signature Requirement. A marijuana legalization initiative, State Question 797, has until August 8 to gather enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot. Organizers need 123,724 valid voter signatures to qualify, and have gathered more than 80,000 in two months of canvassing. To have a safe cushion, organizers need to roughly double their signature count in the remaining weeks.

Medical Marijuana

Arkansas Issues Cultivator Licenses. The state Medical Marijuana Commission has awarded cultivation licenses to five medical marijuana businesses. The move comes after an injunction blocking the move was lifted. Another 90 potential medical marijuana businesses were out of luck, but the commission will keep their applications on hand in case one of the five awarded licenses is revoked or if the commission decides to award the three additional licenses it could issue.

Oklahoma Approves Emergency Rules for Medical Marijuana, Bans Sale of Smokable Medicine. The state Board of Health on Tuesday approved a proposed draft of emergency rules for the state's new medical marijuana program, but also voted to prohibit the sale of smokable marijuana at dispensaries. Licensed medical marijuana patients could still smoke it if they grew their own.

Heroin and Prescription Opioids

Department of Justice Announces Regulatory Steps to Address Opioid Epidemic. The Department of Justice announced new guidelines that it says will enable the DEA to clamp down on diversion of prescription opioids. The announcement doesn't address whether patients who need the drugs for pain will still be able to get them:

"The Department of Justice today announced the finalization of an April proposal to improve the Drug Enforcement Administration's ability to control the diversion of dangerous drugs in the midst of the national opioid crisis. Announced in April by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the final rule sent for publication today in the Federal Register establishes that DEA will take into consideration the extent that a drug is diverted for abuse when it sets its annual opioid production limits," the DEA said in a press release Tuesday. "If DEA believes that that a particular opioid or a particular company's opioids are being diverted for misuse, this allows DEA to reduce the amount that can be produced in a given year. These revised limits will encourage vigilance on the part of opioid manufacturers, help DEA respond to the changing drug threat environment, and protect the American people from potentially addictive drugs while ensuring that the country has enough opioids for genuine medical, scientific, research and industrial needs."

International

Philippines Wants to Drug Test All High School, College Students. In what is actually a retreat from an earlier proposal to require mandatory drug testing for students as young as elementary school, the Philippines DEA is now proposing the mandatory drug testing of all high school and college students. But the move would require a change of law. Current Philippines law only allows for random -- not universal -- drug testing of students.

Sri Lanka to Begin Hanging Drug Dealers. President Maithripala Sirisena told his cabinet Wednesday he was "ready to sign the death warrants" of repeat drug offenders. "From now on, we will hang drug offenders without commuting their death sentences," he said. While the death penalty for drugs remains on the books in Sri Lanka, no one has been executed for a drug offense since 1976. The government said it would try to replicate the "success" of hardline drug policies in the Philippines.