{"id":14011,"date":"2026-09-18T06:55:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-18T05:55:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/amp.ngo\/?p=14011"},"modified":"2026-09-17T14:59:18","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T13:59:18","slug":"sona-2026-rights-groups-give-marcos-jr-failing-marks-on-human-rights-governance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/amp.ngo\/en\/sona-2026-rights-groups-give-marcos-jr-failing-marks-on-human-rights-governance\/","title":{"rendered":"SONA 2026: Rights groups give Marcos Jr. failing marks on human rights, governance"},"content":{"rendered":"

Amnesty International (AI) Philippines has again given<\/a> President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. a \u201cfailed\u201d mark, criticizing his administration\u2019s approach to human rights and social justice ahead of his fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA).<\/p>\n

AI highlighted<\/a> three major concerns the President has yet to address: protecting human rights defenders, upholding press freedom, and advancing climate justice.<\/p>\n

Other human rights and international experts also criticized<\/a> the lack of a concrete human rights agenda in Marcos Jr.\u2019s SONA, pointing to similar issues that should have been mentioned: Attacks on civil society, so-called \u201cred-tagging\u201d (accusation of being a member or supporter of the armed communist insurgency or \u201cterrorist\u201d), and rejoining the International Criminal Court.<\/p>\n

Lawyer and international law lecturer, Romel Bagares, stressed<\/a> that the current government needs to show the international community that Marcos Jr. is serious about its human rights obligations.<\/p>\n

At least 165 activists and government critics have been arrested during Marcos Jr.\u2019s term, averaging one arrest per week over the past four years, said<\/a> the human rights alliance Karapatan in a statement.<\/p>\n

As of July 27, 2026, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) recorded<\/a> 256 attacks on the press under the Marcos Jr. administration. Twelve journalists and media workers have been killed<\/a>, with media groups noting a pattern of violence and intimidation.<\/p>\n

Groups say<\/a> justice is still elusive, as those behind the killings have not been prosecuted. Together with physical violence, journalists continue to face legal harassment through libel, cyber libel, and other charges\u2014used as tools for retaliation and intimidation.<\/p>\n

The government has launched<\/a> efforts like the PNP Media Security Vanguards and signed agreements with agencies to protect media workers, but concerns remain about how effective these measures really are.<\/p>\n

Controversial \u201cPax Silicia\u201d initiative<\/strong><\/p>\n

Marcos Jr. announced<\/a> the Pax Silica Industrial Hub during the SONA, which is part of the US-led Pax Silica Initiative, describing it as a new manufacturing and logistics center for the international tech industry. He said<\/a> the project should create jobs, make the country more competitive, and help revive the economy.<\/p>\n

However, Marcos Jr. did not address<\/a> the project\u2019s possible impact on climate justice. A key concern is water insecurity: the large data centers planned for the site will require<\/a> huge amounts of water for cooling, putting local farmers\u2019 and indigenous Aeta communities\u2019 water supply at risk. Officials claim<\/a> they will use alternative water sources and recycling, but many are not convinced this will prevent the industry\u2019s needs from taking priority over those of the community.<\/p>\n

While officials say<\/a> they will implement alternative water sources and recycling measures, stakeholders are still doubtful that the industry’s needs will not outweigh those of the community.<\/p>\n

Activists also warn<\/a> that the hub could put unsustainable pressure on local electricity and water supplies, shifting environmental and social costs onto nearby communities.<\/p>\n

Similar concerns have surfaced<\/a> in other parts of the Philippines, as the project strives to tap the country\u2019s nickel, copper, chromite, and cobalt for use in semiconductors and mineral processing. Residents have protested<\/a> mining that threatens biodiversity and livelihoods, citing their right to a balanced environment.<\/p>\n

House Representative Leila de Lima urged<\/a> the administration to thoroughly study how Pax Silica might affect the country\u2019s security, environment, public health, and Indigenous communities, stressing that these issues should not be neglected in the name of development.<\/p>\n

De Lima also warned<\/a> that as the president reconsiders nuclear energy, safeguards must protect both the environment and community health and safety.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Photo \u00a9 AMP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Amnesty International (AI) Philippines has again given President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. a \u201cfailed\u201d mark, criticizing his administration\u2019s approach to human rights and social justice ahead of his fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA). AI highlighted three major concerns the President has yet to address: protecting human rights defenders, upholding press freedom, and advancing climate […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":9489,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[73,58,59,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14011","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aktuelles-en","category-human-rights-news","category-internal-affairs","category-news-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/amp.ngo\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14011","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/amp.ngo\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/amp.ngo\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amp.ngo\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amp.ngo\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14011"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/amp.ngo\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14011\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14046,"href":"https:\/\/amp.ngo\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14011\/revisions\/14046"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amp.ngo\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9489"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/amp.ngo\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14011"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amp.ngo\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14011"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amp.ngo\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}