KARAPATAN URGENT ALERT Two Karapatan Sorsogon staff, Ryan Hubilla and Nelly Bagasala, were gunned down at around 8:20 in the morning this Saturday, June 15, 2019 at the corner of Phase 2, Seabreeze Homes Subdivision, Barangay Cabid-an, Sorsogon, Bicol. The perpetrators were onboard a motorcycle. The scene of the crime was only a kilometer away…
(CNN) — Hong Kong will suspend a controversial China extradition bill, its leader said Saturday, in an apparent bid to quell further unrest and mass demonstrations throughout the semi-autonomous Chinese city. Speaking after consultations with lawmakers, Chief Executive Carrie Lam said passage of the bill would be suspended and a second reading due to take…
PRIDE IS COMMUNITY. Pride is for all of us. For those who paved the way, for those forced to live in the dark, for those no longer with us, and for those who will march long after we have gone. But as we grow bigger and as inequalities and human rights violations persist, Pride needs…
Human rights defender protection bill closer to becoming law On 3rd June 2019, in ongoing effort to protect human rights defenders (HRDs) from continued attacks and harassment, the Philippines House of Representatives unanimously approved a Human Rights Defenders bill. Although the bill only becomes law once the Senate and President approves it, the recent decision…
14 June 2019, Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental/Quezon City. The EcoWaste Coalition, an environmental health and justice group, welcomed the agreement reached by the governments of the Philippines and South Korea toward the repatriation of 5,177 tons of illegal traffic waste originating from the latter. At a bilateral meeting held yesterday in Tagoloan and chaired by Port…
When a Chinese vessel rammed and sank their ship on June 9 near Recto Bank, the Filipino crew and their captain saw hope from afar. “Meron pong natanaw na ilaw mga limang milya po ang layo (We spotted light 5 miles away),” said Junel Insigne, the captain of Fishing Boat Gem-Ver. He was telling reporters…
Philippines must demand compensation, SC justice says MANILA – It was an “aggressive” Chinese militia vessel under the command of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) that rammed a Filipino fishing boat anchored off the coast of Recto (Reed) Bank in the West Philippine Sea on Sunday, a senior Supreme Court justice said Friday. This is…
Former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo defended the response of President Rodrigo Duterte after a Chinese vessel sank a Philippine boat near Recto Bank (Reed Bank) in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea). In an interview with ANC, Arroyo said Duterte and Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr have taken the “right approach.” Arroyo – one…
The Philippines has topped the list of countries facing the highest risk of climate change hazards, according to the latest Global Peace Index (GPI) released by Australia-based independent think tank Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP). Citing data from the Index for Risk Management, the IEP said the Philippines scored the highest in terms of…
The reference is the P10,000 across the board increase for teachers and we anticipate that the government will work for it. This amount which will be applicable to all teachers regardless of position is much lower than what the government has previously granted to the military and uniformed personnel by way of a Congressional Joint…
The Commission on Human Rights echoes the condemnation of the Department of National Defense, Department of Foreign Affairs, and other concerned Philippine officials and parties against the acts of a Chinese fishing vessel, which rammed and sank a Filipino fishing boat, then merely leaving 22 Filipino fishers as casualties in open water without help. We…
Matapos ang pamamanggang nangyari sa pagitan Filipino at Chinese vessels sa Recto Bank nitong Linggo, humiling ang Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas na magpakitang gilas ang Hukbong Dagat ng Pilipinas at Philippine Coast Guard sa pagtatanggol ng mga mangingisda. Idinirehe ng Pamalakaya sa Navy at PCG ang hamon matapos mapalubog ng mga Tsino…
About one in five of the Philippines’s 106 million people lives in extreme poverty, getting by on less than $2 a day. Many, including children, work long hours as street vendors or labourers to make enough to feed themselves. Hunger occurs the most in the agriculture and fishing sectors where 70 percent of workers are…
As one of the allies of the LGBTQ+ sector, Youth for Human Rights and Democracy pushes for a non-discriminatory environment for all people regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression. We march with LGBTQ+ members who have been discriminated in their schools for expressing their individuality. Let this be a reminder to keep schools…
Isang mapagpalayang araw para sa ating lahat! Ngayong araw, Hunyo-12 ay ipinagdiriwang sa buong bansa ang ika-121 taon ng pagiging malaya ng ating bansa mula sa pananakop. Sa nakalipas na mahabang panahon, naging malaya nga ba tayo? Tapos na ang gera subalit kabi-kabila pa rin ang pagpatay, ang pang-aabuso, at panggigipit. Napakaraming pamilya ang walang…
The camp of veteran community journalist Margarita Valle is seeking to file arbitrary detention charges against the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) following her arrest that police claimed a mistaken identity. “We are definitely looking at the possibility of filing arbitrary detention charges laban dito sa PNP-CIDG,” Valle’s legal counsel Atty. Kathy…
TRUE COLORS COALITION – PILIPINAS We forge on! Ngayong taon, kasabay ng ika-50 taong paggunita sa Stonewall Riot na naganap sa New York, nagpapatuloy ang buong komunidad ng LGBT sa paglaban sa diskriminasyon at karahasang ginagawa sa ating buong komunidad. Bago pa man ang mismong Stonewall Riot, pinatunayan na ng mga LGBT ang ating di-matatawarang…
350.org is an international climate justice organization encouraging citizens to action with the belief that publicizing the increasing levels of carbon dioxide will pressure world leaders to address climate change and to reduce levels from 400 parts per million to 350 parts per million. Submit your contribution online through HRonlinePH@gmail.com Include your full name,…
The Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance (FIND) condemns in the strongest possible terms the enforced disappearance of journalist and human rights defender Margarita Valle. On 9 June 2019, her son Rius Valle posted the following on Facebook: “Margarita Valle, 61 years old, my mother, was illegally arrested today by members of PNP in Laguindingan…
The 1987 Constitution guarantees that no Filipino shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. As long as a citizen abides by the law, he or she should not be in trouble. But what if you’re apprehended by authorities for some reason – or in times of emergency, like the…
AN INTERNATIONAL labor coalition is calling on Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III to investigate the death of a local labor leader, the 43rd such case since President Rodrigo R. Duterte assumed office in June 2016. International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) Secretary General Sharon Burrow, in an open letter, said…
Resignation or termination. These were the two options President Duterte gave officials of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), which has been rocked by a multibillion-peso fraudulent scam involving dead kidney patients. Duterte was to meet last night with the PhilHealth board, including ex-officio members, at Malacañang to hear the full report of the agency…
For those of you who do not remember or not familiar with Archimedes Trajano, it’s about time you should get acquainted with his story. And when we talk about Archimedes Trajano, Imee Marcos’ name is not far behind. Imee is the daughter of the late Ferdinand Marcos, the president who declared the Martial Law of…
A hundred and thirty-four human rights defenders have been killed since President Rodrigo Duterte assumed office in 2016, a lawmaker said Wednesday. “134 killed among human rights defenders since the advent of the Duterte administration. That will not project protection of human rights defenders,” Albay 1st District Rep. Edcel Lagman said in an interview with…
There are many what if’s – most of them dreadful – surrounding the Sunday (June 9) arrest of veteran Mindanao journalist and development worker Fidelina Margarita “Gingging” Avellanosa-Valle. A brief rundown of the case: Shortly past 11 a.m, journalists got an alert posted from Valle’s son, Rius, the Mindanao spokesperson of the Save Our Schools…
