House cuts funding for human rights body to RM80

MANILA: Philippine lawmakers have voted to slash annual funding for the nation’s human rights commission to just 1,000 pesos (RM80) in response to its investigations into President Rodrigo Duterte’s deadly drug war, authorities said.

The House of Representatives action is the latest part of what critics say is a campaign by Duterte and his allies to silence opposition to the crackdown, which has claimed thousands of lives and led rights groups to warn of a crime against humanity.