At least 8 rights guaranteed by the Philippine Constitution have been violated by the enforcement of government policies in its intensified anti-drug campaign, showed a study by the Ateneo Human Rights Center (AHRC) released Friday. In examining the legal framework of “Oplan Tokhang,” government’s controversial knock-and-plead crackdown on drug suspects, AHRC said authorities violate the…
“It’s bad when the government lies through its paid PR to manipulate its people.” Rappler’s Chief Executive Officer Maria Ressa said this after Malacañang affirmed the matrix that linked journalists and media organizations to a destabilization plot against Presidente Rodrigo Duterte and his administration. Earlier, Malacañang revealed that the “Oust-Duterte” matrix published in the Manila…
News heads Maria Ressa of Rappler and Ellen Tordesillas of Vera Files on Monday, April 22, slammed the government over a matrix linking them and other journalists to an alleged plot to oust President Rodrigo Duterte. Aside from Rappler and Vera Files, the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) was also implicated in the matrix.…
A group of lawyers accused of plotting the ouster of President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday called the claims “rubbish,” as they claimed they were too busy defending human rights. The National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers hit a report on Manila Times, which quoted “highly placed source in the Office of the President” that “there is…
PCIJ Statement on The Manila Times‘s report on “Oust-Duterte plot”, 22 April 2019 The Manila Times’s “association matrix” and story about a supposed “oust-Duterte plot” that include journalists with the PCIJ are wrong on many points. 1. PCIJ had absolutely not nor ever received any email from Ms. Ellen Tordesillas on the link to the…
The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism has responded to what it called President Rodrigo Duterte’s “broadsides” aimed at PCIJ’s recent reports on the Duterte family’s wealth, saying there was no reason for the President to “lose his cool”. “The PCIJ report was built on the Dutertes’ own declarations in their SALNs (Statements of Assets, Liabilities,…
Five United States senators introduced a bipartisan resolution highlighting human rights concerns in the Philippines and urging the Duterte administration to respect freedom of expression. US Sens. Edward Markey (D-Mass.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) this week filed the six-page resolution, which specifically raised the cases of…
Caloocan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David was temporarily banned from Facebook on Thursday after his criticism of President Rodrigo Duterte went viral. A report by CBCP News said the prelate lost access to his Facebook account for about 2 hours after the social media giant accused him of “phishing” or fraudulently attempting to acquire sensitive information.…
ICC exit removes protection for Filipinos-iDEFEND The Philippines’ withdrawal from its membership in the International Criminal Court (ICC) means that an important legal mechanism enforcing some of the most advanced international cooperation for justice will be out of reach for Filipinos, especially those working in dangerous and conflict-ridden countries. Although withdrawing from the ICC will…
President Duterte’s release of “narco list” of politicians is an outrageous attempt to influence local elections in May Statement from Human Rights Watch on Duterte’s release of “narco list” of politicians: President Duterte’s naming of politicians he accuses of involvement in illegal drugs is an outrageous attempt to influence local elections in May. More critically,…
Priests recount death threats Three priests who have received death threats allegedly for their criticism of the Duterte administration’s war on drugs declared that they are not scared. Fathers Robert Reyes, Flavie Villanueva and Albert Alejo yesterday went public and said that they have been receiving death threats and even monitored suspicious men lurking near…
ICC likely to come after Duterte despite PH split – lawyer The International Criminal Court is likely to continue investigating President Rodrigo Duterte for alleged crimes against humanity even after the Philippines’ withdrawal from the tribunal takes effect a week from now, a rights lawyer said Sunday. The Hague-based ICC launched last year a preliminary…
More priests bare death threats under Duterte’s watch More Catholic priests came out on Monday, March 11, to expose death threats against them under the watch of President Rodrigo Duterte. Fathers Flavie Villanueva, Robert Reyes, and Albert Alejo appeared in a press conference at the Saint Vincent School of Theology in Tandang Sora, Quezon City,…
29,000 deaths probed since drug war launched At least 29,000 cases of killings categorized as deaths under inquiry (DUI) have been recorded nationwide since President Duterte launched his crackdown on illegal drugs, according to the Philippine National Police (PNP). In an interview over The Chiefs on Cignal TV’s One News on Monday, PNP spokesman Col.…
R.A 11203 will lambast the Philippine economy backbone We rise in behalf of the farmers and consumers who will be affected by the rice liberalization law, putting their right to food safety and food security in jeopardy, as yesterday, March 5, marked the start of rice liberalization in the country, after R.A 11203 known as…
Philippine prelate refuses to be cowed by threats A Philippine bishop who has received death threats for criticizing the government’s bloody narcotics crackdown has vowed to continue speaking out against it. Bishop Pablo Virgilio David of Kalookan in the Philippine capital Manila said while he fears for his safety, he “fears more for children and…
Batas vs corporal punishment sa mga bata, ibinasura ni Duterte Ibinasura ni Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte sa pamamagitan ng kaniyang “veto power” ang ipinasang anti- corporal punishment bill ng Kongreso na nagbabawal na saktan o hiyain ang mga bata bilang parusa. Sa kaniyang veto message, sinabi ni Duterte na hindi siya lubos na sang-ayon sa panukala…
Duterte: ‘Killings? I’ve killed many. I’m just beginning’ As a video critical of the administration is going viral, President Duterte disputed the claims of his critics that he has brought the country to the proverbial kangkungan, or water spinach patch. “Sabi niyo bastos ako, eh ‘di bastos. So ano? ‘Eh p*****. Duterte napili natin hindi…
Bishop confirms death threats Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, whom President Rodrigo Duterte threatened to kill, has been receiving death threats. On Tuesday, David said his life was in danger so he decided to skip the Ka Pepe Diokno Human Rights Awards in De La Salle University (DLSU) Manila. “For over a week now my mobile…
Mindanao´s People´s Lawyers decry worsening vilification of lawyers under Duterte´s Martial Law with a stealthily delivered hit-list. It is indefinite terms, a perverse action when lawyers who provide free legal assistance to those who found themselves in the crosshairs of the draconian rule of President Duterte´s Martial Law become targets of annihilation. This leads us…
