News
Constant vilification of Sarah Elago
Sarah Elago, the youngest member of the Filipino Congress ever has been subject of numerous diffamation attacks during all of 2020. She has been red-tagged with the use of manipulated photographs in the social networks so she nowadays gets nervous if anybody is asking...
Inquirer reports on human rights activity of the Germany-based NGO philippinenbüro
Human rights defenders and rights activists have gathered in front of the cathedral of Cologne, Germany on 10th December. The philippinenbüro e.V. which is based in Cologne organised the protest in order to remember the many victims of human rights violations in the...
EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy sanctions human rights abuses
On Monday, December 7, 2020 the EU foreign ministers approved a mechanism that allows member countries to sanction individuals and organizations responsible for human rights abuses. The new mechanism, which is similiar to the US American "Magnitsky Act" gives EU...
Peace Talks: Duterte says there will be no more truce with communist rebels
On 7th December President Duterte said in his weekly address that during the rest of his term there will be no more truce with the communist rebels. Traditionally, both sides would agree on a ceasefire during the holiday season. Duterte says, the ceasefire died when...
Wave of arrests on International Human Rights day
The International Human Rights Day in the Philippines was marked by a wave of arrests. Among the victims was journalist Lady Anne Salem who was working for the red tagged alternative news site Manila Today. All have been arrested for alleged posession of firearms....
Human Rights Defender Amanda Echanis imprisoned with her baby
Amanda Echanis, daughter of Randall Echanis, who was murdered this year in August was arrested on 2nd December together with her one month old baby- for alleged posession of firearms and explosives. The organisation Anakpawis claims that these were false allegations....
ICC finds “basis to believe” Duterte’s drug war caused crimes against humanity
The International Criminal Court ICC has been investigating the human rights violations in the Philippines since the opening of preliminary investigations of the killings by police in the context of the so-called war on drugs in February 2018 by ICC's chief prosecutor...
Duterte distances himself from narco-list
While his family and friends mourn the death of slain Mayor Cesar Perez President Duterte claims that he had nothing to do with the so called "narco-list" which is believed to be responsible for Perez' death. The "narco-list" is a list containing the names of several...
CIVICUS report downgrades Phillipines from “obstructed” to “repressed”
CIVICUS Monitor, the Global research collaboration that tracks fundamental freedoms in 196 countries has just published their annual report “People Under Attack” 2020. In this report, CIVICUS has downgraded the Philippines from “obstructed” to “repressed”. Civic...
Duterte speaks at Human Rights Summit
On december 7th the Human Rights Summit organised by the department of Justice opened its doors. President Duterte said in his speech that he was proud that the Philippines signed many of the world’s core human rights treaties. Numerous organisations are criticising...
Arte Documentation: Human Rights Violations in the Philippines
The restrictions due to COVID-19 result in lesser documentation of the human rights situation in the Philippines as local NGOs can hardly continue their work. Carsten Stormer, a Manila based journalist, has now provided one of the view reportings on civil and...
More journalists killed in the Philippines
The number of journalists killed since Duterte came into power 2016 is constantly growing. Within the last two weeks there have been two assassinations, raising the total number to 19. On November 10th Virgilio Maganes from Pangasinan was shot several times by...
„War on Drugs“
Amid the pandemic, it has been difficult to document human rights violations in the context of the so-called war on drugs. People who would usually do so when they hear about a case of extrajudicial killing by taking photographs or interviewing the families of the...
Urgency Resolution on the situation in the Philippines in the European Parliament
Since late 2014, the Philippines is a beneficiary of the EU trade preferences given under the GSP+ scheme which are tied to the compliance with 27 international treaties, including 7 human rights conventions. On September 16, 2020, the European Parliament adopted an...
Maria Ressa speaks at the European Union
On October 28, 2020, Maria Ressa, co-founder and CEO of rappler.com spoke at a joint meeting of the EU Subcommittee on Human Rights (DROI) and EU Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM) (starting minute 10:34) about the situation for women since...
Misogyny is on the rise in the Philippines
According to International partners as well as partners from the Philippines cases of violence, sexual violence to the point of sexual abuse against women have increased substantially during Duterte’s regime. Especially human rights defenders are increasingly being...
Human Rights Defenders face increasing threats
The situation for human rights defenders in the Philippines has deteriorated during the past months. The assassination of Jory Porquia has been followed by the murder of Randall Echanis and Zara Alvarez, just to name the most prominent ones. Human rights defenders...
State of the Nation Address 2020 (SONA) and Reintroduction of the Death Penalty
In the 5th SONA on July 27, 2020, President Duterte announced the reintroduction of the death penalty by lethal injection in connection with drug-related offences. Since August 5, 2020, the issue has thus been back on the House of Representatives' agenda. The...
45th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva
On the forty-fifth session of the Human Rights Council (UNHRC) adopted a weak follow-up resolution proposed by Island and the Philippines itself which does not contain an investigative mechanism. At the beginning of the session on September 14, 2020 Human Rights...
“If we don’t take significant action now, democracy as we know it is dead”
In an interview with Germany's broadcaster SWR, Maria Ressa, CEO and Co-founder of Rappler, talks about social media and their impact on society. The Philippines are known to be one of the world leading users of social media like facebook, twitter, etc. For many...