News
AMP-Statement: On fabricated charges against NGOs in the Philippines
The Aktionsbündnis Menschenrechte – Philippinen (AMP) condemns the high number of fabricated charges filed against NGOs, development workers, and human rights defenders by the Philippine government for allegedly violating the domestic “Terrorism Financing Prevention...
AMP-Statement: Human rights defenders keep disappearing under Philippines’ Marcos Jr.
The Aktionsbündnis Menschenrechte – Philippinen (AMP, German Action Network Human Rights-Philippines) is concerned about the alarmingly high number of disappeared human rights defenders in the Philippines since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. took office in June 2022....
Terrorism financing charges target human rights advocates
Jasmin Jerusalem, executive director of the Leyte Center for Development (LCDe), reappeared in court on March 25, 2025, after charges against her were reinstated following an appeal by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG). The case was dismissed for...
U.S. sanctions threaten ICC’s existence
United States President Donald Trump issued sweeping sanctions on February 6, 2025, targeting the International Criminal Court (ICC) and its Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan. The sanctions, aimed at blocking the Court’s investigations into American and allied nationals,...
Was Duterte’s ICC arrest politically motivated?
Acting on a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) and sent to the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol), Philippine authorities arrested former President Rodrigo Duterte in Manila on March 11, 2025. The following day, he was...
How Duterte’s ICC arrest impacts the Philippine midterm elections
Former President Rodrigo Duterte’s recent arrest over alleged crimes against humanity and transfer to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague in March 2025 has raised the stakes for the midterm elections that will take place in the Philippines on May 12,...
ICC trial against Rodrigo Duterte: What happens next?
Following his arrest on March 11, 2025, former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte is now in the custody of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Netherlands. He awaits trial at the Hague Penitentiary Institution for crime against humanity of murder,...
House probe into disinformation sparks debate on media freedom
A congressional inquiry into online disinformation has raised questions about the balance between accountability and potential threats to press freedom. During the third hearing of the House tri-committee on March 21, 2025, bloggers associated with former President...
Police “abducted” activist Lejun de la Cruz
Elements of the Philippine National Police (PNP) attempted but failed to assassinate Lejun de la Cruz, a former communist guerilla, human rights activist, and nominee of the Magsasaka party-list in the coming May election. This was announced by Magsasaka Party in a...
UN Committee reviews Philippines’ human rights compliance
The United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) reviewed the Philippines in the context of the seventh periodic report in Geneva on February 19, 2025, on the state of the country’s compliance with economic, social, and cultural human...
Trumped-up charges against 70-year-old activist
Human rights activist Myrna Cruz-Abraham was arrested by members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Philippine Army in San Rafael, Bulacan on January 27, 2025. She was then transferred to the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Camp...
Protecting human rights in EU-Philippines free trade agreement negotiations
When the Philippines began the second round of talks over a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union (EU) last February 2025, concerns were raised about potential negative impacts on vulnerable sectors and the country's ongoing human rights issues....
Historic step towards justice: Rodrigo Duterte arrested, charged at ICC
After receiving an international arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged crimes against humanity, delivered by Interpol, the Philippine authorities arrested former President Rodrigo Duterte in Manila on March 11, 2025. Duterte was...
Philippines exits FATF grey list amid concerns over human rights violations
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) declared that the Philippines has fulfilled its compliance requirements on February 21, 2025, following a visit by officials of the global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog just a month earlier. The country has...
House of Representatives votes for impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte
The Philippine House of Representatives voted to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte on February 5, 2025, making her the first vice president in the nation’s history to face such a process. The impeachment followed a complaint that included the following accusations: ...
Lawmakers want reinvestigation into extrajudicial killings in Duterte’s “war on drugs”
The Philippine House of Representatives' so-called quad committee called for a reinvestigation into the extrajudicial killings (EJK) linked to the so-called “war on drugs” of former President Rodrigo Duterte. Several members of the committee brought up the idea during...
Three Congress panels will investigate disinformation in the Philippines
The Philippine House of Representatives has launched an investigation into the spread of fake news and disinformation in the country. Three House panels – committees on public order, public information, and information and communications technology – will jointly...
Dismissal of terrorism financing case highlights crackdown on Philippine NGOs
The City Prosecutor's Office in Tacloban City has dropped charges against the Leyte Center for Development Inc. (LCDE) for alleged violations of the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act of 2012 (Republic Act No. 10168) due to insufficient evidence. In a...
Justice Secretary declares limited cooperation with ICC possible
In January 2025, the Philippine Coalition for the ICC (PCICC) urged the Marcos Jr. administration to expedite its cooperation with the International Criminal Court (ICC) to address the crimes committed during the previous administration's so-called “war on drugs.”...
Human rights violations still not addressed in 2024
In its World Report 2025, Human Rights Watch (HRW) stressed that Philippine President Marcos Jr. “initiated some human rights improvements in 2024 but failed to address past and ongoing violations.” Drug-related and extrajudicial killings associated with the so-called...