News
Reform of the anti-drug law required
At the Drug Policy and Law Reform Summit that took place from July 10 to 12, 2024, in Manila, the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) declared that the government supports a reform of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Law (Republic Act 9165) and wants to revise certain...
Philippine Human Rights Plan to start end of 2024
In a joint statement on the end of the UN Joint Programme on Human Rights (UNJP) in July 2024, the Philippine Department of Justice (DOJ) and the UN Office in Manila announced on August 8, 2024, that the Philippine government will present a comprehensive and...
SONA: Marcos Jr. says drug war is “bloodless”
On July 22, 2024, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. praised the successes of his anti-drug campaign in his third State of the Nation Address (SONA) in Manila. He referred to the arrest of 97,000 drug dealers and record quantities of seized illegal drugs worth 44 billion...
Government allows ICC interviews
On July 30, 2024, Prosecutor General Menardo Guevarra confirmed that the Philippine government will comply with the request of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to allow to interview five people in the Philippines. The interviews are related to the ICC...
UNP ends, government praises successes
On July 31, 2024, the UN Joint Programme on Human Rights (UNJP), a three-year technical cooperation between the United Nations (UN) and the Philippines, came to an end. The aim of the UNJP was to support the Philippine government in its investigations into...
CHR inquires into “red-tagging”
On July 30, 2024, the Philippine Commission on Human Rights (CHR) launched a two-day public inquiry to investigate the practice of “red-tagging” (i.e. branding individuals or organizations as “terrorist”). Among the participants were the UN Special Rapporteur on...
Shutdown order against Rappler dismissed
On August 9, 2023, the Court of Appeals in Manila lifted the shutdown order against the news portal Rappler. The court decision restored the company's certificate of incorporation and eliminated the risk of a shutdown. Maria Ressa called on the government of Marcos...
Sara Duterte resigns as Secretary of Education and NTF-ELCAC Vice Chairperson
On June 19, 2024, Sara Duterte unexpectedly announced her resignation as Secretary of Education and Vice Chairperson of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) at a press conference. "My resignation is not from a place of weakness,...
Senator Dela Rosa refuses to participate in human rights committee inquiry
On June 25, 2024, the Human Rights Committee of the House of Representatives held another hearing to investigate the drug-related killings or extrajudicial killings in the course of the so-called "war on drugs" under former President Duterte. In this third hearing,...
Fourth conviction of police officers in drug-related killing case
On June 18, 2024, the Caloocan City Regional Trial Court convicted four police officers for the killing of Luis Bonifacio and his son Gabriel Bonifacio in 2016 during an anti-drug operation. Police Master Sergeant Virgilio Q. Servantes and Police Corporals Arnel De...
Final acquittal for Leila de Lima
On June 24, 2024, the Muntinlupa Regional Court acquitted Philippine opposition politician and former senator Leila de Lima of the third and final charge of conspiracy to traffic drugs. The court's decision ended a trial that lasted around seven years, of which De...
House of Representatives leads inquiry into drug-related killings
On May 22, 2024, the Human Rights Committee of the House of Representatives of the Philippines launched an inquiry into the drug-related killings or extrajudicial killings in the context of the so-called "war on drugs" under the term of former President Rodrigo...
Terrorist financing charges against CERNET
On May 8, 2024, the Philippine Department of Justice (DOJ) filed charges against 27 former and active members of the organization Community Empowerment Resource Network (CERNET) for alleged violations of the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act of 2012...
New special committee for human rights criticized
The passing of a new ordinance (Administrative Order 22/AO22), which is intended to set up a new special committee to improve the human rights situation in the Philippines, has met with increased criticism from civil society and the government opposition. Former...
Philippines should ratify International Convention for the Protection against Enforced Disappearance
On May 29, 2024, as part of the 2nd Franco-German Human Rights Gathering, the Manila-based embassies of Germany and France called on the Philippine government to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance...
Department of Justice examines potential ICC arrest warrants
The Philippine Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on May 9, 2024, that it is preparing a legal brief analyzing various legal options for the issuance of arrest warrants by the International Criminal Court (ICC). This initiative came against the backdrop of former...
NTF-ELCAC stays, says President Marcos Jr.
In a decision dated May 8, 2024, the Philippine Supreme Court (SC) declared so-called "red-tagging" (i.e., branding individuals or organizations as "terrorist") as a threat to a person's right to life, liberty, and security. The organization Human Rights Watch then...
AMP-Statement: Fabricated charges against CERNET members in the Philippines
In a statement, the Aktionsbündnis Menschenrechte Philippinen (AMP/Action Network Human Rights Philippines) strongly condemns the fabricated charges, filed on May 8, 2024, against 27 individuals affiliated with the organization Community Empowerment Resource Network...
US report: No significant changes of human rights situation in Philippines
The US Department of State's report on the human rights situation in the Philippines in 2023, published on April 22, 2024, found that human rights violations continued to occur under the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Furthermore, the annual report...
Trillanes: ICC spoke to 50 police officers
On April 24, 2024, former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV stated on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) that over 50 active and former Philippine National Police (PNP) officers have been contacted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for their involvement...