Senators voted on a resolution today calling on the government to stop the killings of minors in the Philippines.
Sixteen of 23 senators signed resolution 516, filed yesterday, calling on the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte to “undertake the necessary steps to stop the spate of killings, especially of our children.”
According to a Rappler report, the measure also calls for a Senate investigation into the issue to determine the “institutional reasons, if any, that give rise to such killings.”
“Due to the alarming spike in the number of children recently killed in blatant violation of their rights guaranteed by the Constitution, Philippine laws and international treaties, there is an urgent need to conduct an investigation of these senseless killings,” the resolution read.
READ: 13-year-old Filipino ‘shot repeatedly’ outside home in Pasay City
Data provided by the Children’s Legal Rights and Development Center was cited in the resolution and said that at least 54 minors have been killed in police operations or vigilante-style killings since Duterte took office last year.
According to human rights organizations, at least 13,000 have been killed in the war on drugs, either in police operations or by unknown assailants. This is a figure that the government disputes.
Below is a list of how the senators voted:
Senators who signed the resolution:
- Minority Leader Franklin Drilon
- Francis Pangilinan
- Paolo Benigno Aquino IV
- Risa Hontiveros
- Antonio Trillanes IV
- Leila de Lima
- Ralph Recto
- Grace Poe
- Francis Escudero
- Joseph Victor Ejercito
- Juan Edgardo Angara
- Loren Legarda
- Joel Villanueva
- Sherwin Gatchalian
- Nancy Binay
- Panfilo Lacson
READ: OPINION: Duterte’s words are killing our youth
Senators who did not sign:
- Aquilino Pimentel
- Vicente Sotto III
- Richard Gordon
- Cynthia Villar
- Juan Miguel Zubiri
- Gregorio Honasan
- Manny Pacquiao
