The video, made by Alex Felipe, Pinoy Weekly correspondent, photojournalist and migrant-leader in Toronto, Canada, is about the visit to Canada of three human rights defenders in the Philippines, Bishop Reuel Barigza of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP);  Dr. Merry Mia Clamor, health worker and former political prisoner with the so-called Morong 43, and Angelina Bisuna Ipong, chairperson of Samahan ng mga Ex-Detainee Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto (Selda, Association of Ex-Detainees Against Detention and Arrest) and a political prisoner as well, under the previous Arroyo government.

The Filipino human rights defenders visited Canada as the Philippine government was preparing to undergo a Universal Periodic Review (UPR), a state-driven process involving a review of the human rights records of all 192 United Nations (UN) member states once every four years.

The activists hope their meetings with parliamentarians and Canadians will help put an end to what they describe as a “culture of impunity” and exert pressure on the Aquino government to respond to human rights abuses.

Their tour – from March 27 to April 16 – was part of an international effort to shed light on the human rights situation in the Philippines. The UPR requires the Aquino government to declare before the UN Human Rights Council what it has done to improve the human rights situation in the Philippines and to fulfill its human rights obligations to Filipinos.

(Some photos used in the video were provided by Pinoy Weekly)