Archives: Media Releases

KARAPATAN assailed calls from Interior and Local Governments Sec. Jonvic Remulla to make illegal possession of firearms a non-bailable offense, saying this will only make it easier for the State to cause the prolonged detention of activists and other dissenters. Said KARAPATAN secretary general Cristina Palabay, many activists and other political opponents targeted for persecution …

KARAPATAN on DILG’s proposal law vs possession of firearms Read More »

KARAPATAN views with alarm the planned construction of a permanent “counter-terrorism facility” in Pagadian City under the US State Department’s Anti-Terrorism Assistance program, saying it will lead to worsening violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in the Philippines. The “anti-terrorism hub” which will be funded by a US$500,000 (P30.8-million) US grant, will reportedly …

KARAPATAN: US “counter-terrorism facility” in Pagadian City will spur more rights violations in PH Read More »

KARAPATAN assailed reports of police and military harassment against students in Kalinga and a peasant leader in Cebu. In Kalinga, the 5th Infantry Division of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) disrupted and sabotaged the Kalinga State University’s Konsultahang Kabataan on August 14, 2026 that had Kabataan Partylist (KPL) Rep. Renee Co as guest …

Rights group slams continuing harassment of students, peasant leader Read More »

Since 1999, the Philippine government has been marking August as International Humanitarian Law (IHL) Month, with every 12th of August designated as IHL Day. Officially, the commemoration is designed to raise awareness about the importance of protecting civilians and hors de combat during armed conflict. Yet some of the most appalling atrocities have been perpetrated …

Marcos regime is foremost violator of international humanitarian law Read More »

Political prisoners at the Correctional Institution for Women (CIW) in Mandaluyong City demanded accountability, the return of their funds, and the abolition of the “trust fund” system at the prison, following the results of a recent audit at the CIW that revealed that up to ₱7 million of funds remitted by families of Persons Deprived …

CIW political prisoners demand accountability for corruption, “lost” funds of PDLs Read More »

Rights group KARAPATAN slammed Vice President Sara Duterte’s call for the public to show empathy toward persons deprived of liberty (PDLs), saying “it rings hollow when viewed against the Duterte administration’s grim record of human rights violations against detainees, including political prisoners.” According to the group, there is nothing objectionable about recognizing that all PDLs …

Really, empathy? Sara Duterte’s selective “empathy” exposes hypocrisy on prisoners’ rights Read More »

KARAPATAN said Sara Duterte must be held fully accountable for the misuse of ₱612.5 million confidential funds at the Office of Vice President and Department of Education (DepEd) for counterinsurgency-related activities, including the reported surveillance and background checks on DepEd’s teachers and learners. The disclosures made during Duterte’s impeachment trial reveal not only the corrupt …

KARAPATAN: Sara Duterte must be held accountable for using DepEd confidential funds to bankroll counterinsurgency Read More »

KARAPATAN welcomed the Supreme Court’s issuance of the writs of amparo and habeas data, along with a Temporary Protection Order (TPO), in favor of human rights lawyer Atty. Rey Gorgonio and peasant rights advocates Joselito Macapobre, Analyn Mirano, and Ma. Anabelle Ilustrisimo, saying the Court’s action underscores the serious and imminent threats faced by human …

SC issuance of protective writs affirms the gravity of red-tagging threats vs. Negros rights defenders – KARAPATAN Read More »