4 2020 Annual Report on the Human Rights Situation in the Philippines 15% in infected persons over 80 years old, whereas it is less than 0.5% in people below 50 years of age. Another key vulnerable sector affected by COVID-19 is persons with disabilities (PWD). CHR notes that the majority of persons with disabilities in the Philippines belong to poor families with minimum wage earners under the ‘no work, no pay’ scheme. They do not have the financial resources to stock up on basic food items, medicines, and other essentials, including hygiene kits especially for women. Children with disabilities who are in situations of conflict, emergencies, and disasters, appear to be the least protected. Existing services are designed broadly, and there is little or no customized approach in addressing the specific needs of sub-groups within the sector, such as women and children with disabilities, and their varying requirements across different types of disabilities. On Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDLs) in various places of detention (POD) all over the country, reports by the media show that many were diagnosed to have been afflicted with COVID-19. The cramped and often below standard detention facilities, combined with overcrowding, likely contributed to the spread of the disease in the country’s jails. From the same reports, it was obvious that during the COVID-19 emergency, PDLs did not enjoy the same standards and quality of health care services made available outside prisons or jails. During the current situation, the foremost clamor of persons with disabilities in the Philippines is to be adequately informed about the pandemic, the health protocols, the government response to the pandemic, and the regulations, including advisories, to ensure the health and well-being of the people. In particular, it is a challenge for the deaf community to obtain information through broadcast media when there are no insets for sign language interpretation and no sufficiently visible captions or subtitles of suitable text size. The report also features a substantive discussion on the current state of civil and political rights in the country in 2020. A major highlight of this section is the analysis of the alarming situation of human rights defenders who were subjected to harassment, and in some cases, violation of their right to security of the person. Reports of various cases of red-tagging are under investigation by CHR regional offices nationwide. Relatedly, the CHR notes with grave concern the continuing killings linked to the war on drugs that continued to take place despite the pandemic. From the period of 31 March to 31 May 2020, law enforcement agencies conducted 5,840 anti-drug enforcement operations, which resulted in arrests of 10,105 suspects and the death of 67. Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Archie Gamboa announced last 26 May 202010 that there is no let-up in the anti-illegal drug operations even with the ongoing health crisis. The government’s figures gave credence to the statistics that 10 Philippine National Police. (2020, May 26). NO LET-UP IN ANTI-ILLEGAL DRUGS OPERATIONS, NEW RAIDS YIELD P40M OF SHABU – GAMBOA