But Many Acquitted, Remain at Large in 2009 Maguindanao Killings By Carlos H. Conde Philippines Researcher Human Rights Watch @condeHRW When I heard the verdict handed down in the Maguindanao Massacre case today, I was ecstatic. As a former journalist, I’ve waited 10 long years for a court to convict the perpetrators of the country’s…
The Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) of the International Criminal Court may wrap up its preliminary probe on President Duterte’s drug war sooner than expected. And if ICC Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda finds enough evidence – andfollowing precedents –at the earliest, formal charges for international crimes may be brought, and an arrest warrant issued, against…
Irish rock band U2 has honored Red Cross volunteers, journalists and activists at the Philippine leg of their world tour, “The Joshua Tree Tour” promoted by MMI Live and held in Philippine Arena in Bulacan. During the concert, frontman Bono asked concertgoers to include volunteers, journalists and activists in their prayers. In a Zipline press…
Rodrigo R. Duterte is a most secretive President when it comes to the details of his wealth. To this day, eight months after the April 30 deadline for filing, he has not released a copy of his Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) for 2018. By all indications, Duterte sticks out as the…
As we mark the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), it is, we firmly believe, as relevant today as it was when it was adopted 71 years ago. Human rights defenders, environmental activists, indigenous peoples rights defenders, lawyers and journalists in the country are facing unprecedented levels of persecution, intimidation and violence,…
Balay Rehabilitation Center has given recognition to 26 learners in its Alternative Learning Center for passing the accreditation and equivalency exam administered by the Department of Education to students who completed the Alternative Learning System (ALS) Program. The passers represent 37% of the total learners currently enrolled in the Balay ALS program. The ceremony was…
Is it not divine providence that the International Human Rights Day is observed during the Christian Season of Advent? We wait—like captive Israel of old—for a new dawning of God’s justice and peace. How befiting for human rights day to fall at this time! The human rights situation in the Philippines is dismal. In Negros…
Quezon City—On 09 December 2019, a day before the celebration of the International Human Rights Day, the Commission on Human Rights hosted a solidarity event convening human rights defenders, activists, and supporters around the country to amplify the call to end the unabated clampdown on human rights workers. “We thank everyone for joining us in…
Members of artist group Panday Sining have been declared as “persona non grata” by the Manila city council, the Manila Public Information Office announced on Friday, December 6. “Manila City Council passes resolution declaring militant group ‘Panday Sining’ as persona non grata in the nation’s capital,” the office tweeted. The resolution came after the group…
The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) held its first Summit Against Gender-based Violence on November 25, in time for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. The Summit kicked off CHR’s observation of the 18 Days of Activism, a nationwide campaign to end violence against women that also covers the International Women…
Justice remains elusive two years since the killing of eight members of the T’boli-Manobo indigenous people in Mindanao who are locked in a struggle with a coffee plantation over land. Task Force Tamasco, a group of non-governmental organizations supporting the T’boli-Manobo S’daf Claimants Organization (TAMASCO), condemns the agonizingly slow action of the Department of Environment…
Closing ABS-CBN Would Degrade Philippines Press Freedom By Carlos H. Conde Researcher, Asia Division Human Rights Watch @condeHRW President Rodrigo Duterte ramped up his attack on the Philippine media, vowing to block the renewal of ABS-CBN, the country’s largest and most influential broadcast network. “Your franchise will end next year,” the president said on Tuesday.…
In response to the plea made by Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte, various ecology groups signified their support for groundbreaking citywide policies aimed at reducing the volume of single-use plastics and other residual wastes. At a press conference held yesterday, Belmonte announced the promulgation of Ordinance No.2876, which bans the distribution and use of single-use…
Political persecution and killings of activists and human rights defenders have been consistently at the top of the government’s agenda since Rodrigo Duterte assumed the presidency in 2016. To date, more than 2,000 human rights defenders have already been attacked through various forms including threat, intimidation, harassment, trumped-up charges, and extrajudicial killing. The massive crackdown…
Duterte Administration Embraces Lawless Political Culture By Carlos H. Conde Researcher, Asia Division Human Rights Watch @condeHRW Ten years ago, news of the Maguindanao Massacre in the southern Philippines shook the world. On November 23, 2009, a hundred gunmen hired by the powerful Ampatuan clan stopped a six-vehicle convoy and executed 58 people, including a…
PhilRights’ documentation of alleged EJK cases reveals that human rights violations committed against the victims of alleged EJKs, their families, and their communities are systemic, coordinated, sequential, and comprehensive. QUEZON CITY – More than being a war on the poor, Duterte’s drug war is ‘an unrelenting war against human rights,’ the Philippine Human Rights Information…
Environmental activists at the mercy of business at all costs Duterte’s broken promises are leaving activists at the mercy of business at all costs in the Philippines, the country with the most killings of land and environmental defenders in 2018. In 2018, 30 land and environmental defenders were killed in the Philippines, making it the…
As governments scramble to save the proposed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement , peoples from Southeast Asia have consolidated their strong opposition to this ambitious and unjust trade and investment agreement Meeting at the ASEAN Civil Society Conference/ ASEAN Peoples Forum held recently in Thailand under the Convergence Space on Trade, Investment and Corporate…
September 20, marks the Global Climate Strike organized and spearheaded by the youth and supported by different sectors around the world. This aims to make a strong call for Climate Justice, in time for the United Nations’ climate talks leading to the 26th Conference of Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Workers…
Quezon City- Members and networks of the Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA), Association of Major Religious Superiors of the Philippines (AMRSP), Peoples’ Coalition for Authentic Democracy (PCAD) and In Defense of Human Rights and Dignity Movement (iDEFEND) held last Saturday, September 21 a joint program commemorating 47 years since martial law was declared…
