Media Release Type: Press release

President Rodrigo Duterte delivered his 4th State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 22, 2019. Parallel protest actions, attended by tens of thousands, were held within and outside the country.  “For three more years, we will be confronted with the same ineffective and anti-people kill-kill-kill solution and policy framework of the Duterte government. Duterte …

Karapatan on Duterte’s SONA: Same old anti-people policies, new and harsher priorities Read More »

“The Duterte government is deliberately fueling fears and paranoia, spewing dangerous and oftentimes unfounded claims on criminality and terrorism. The three years of this government is anchored on bloated statistics and disinformation meant to justify widespread repression and unnecessary brutality directed towards the poor, the oppressed, and the critical. There is no transparency amid the …

Duterte’s 4th SONA: Three Years of State Terrorism, Deteriorating Human Rights Situation, and Gross Impunity Read More »

“We condemn the wrongful conviction of political prisoners Lilia Bucatcat, 72, and Billy Morada. Accused with trumped-up charges by the government, they have been languishing in prisons in different parts of the country for crimes they did not commit. Both are peasant organizers in the Eastern Visayas region. It is infuriating that the Duterte government …

Rights group slams wrongful conviction of two political prisoners Read More »

Karapatan today lambasted the recent reported ruling of the 7th Division of the Sandiganbayan, which dismissed charges filed by the health workers collectively known as the Morong 43 on violations of their rights under Republic Act 7438.  “The decision of the 7th Division of the Sandiganbayan on the Morong 43 case is one of the …

Karapatan decries Sandiganbayan decision on Morong 43 case Read More »

In a resolution dated July 11, the Court of Appeals (CA) has denied the National Union of People’s Lawyers’ (NUPL) request for a temporary protection order (TPO) “which is an ancillary remedy to the privilege of the writ of amparo.” If granted, the protection order would have prohibited state forces from threatening and harassing the …

Karapatan backs NUPL amid CA’s denial of temporary protection order request Read More »

Condemning the killings under President Rodrigo Duterte’s regime, relatives of the victims of extrajudicial killings, along with several human rights groups on Wednesday, July 17, 2019 trooped to the Department of National Defense (DND) in Camp Aguinaldo and to the Philippine National Police (PNP) Headquarters in Camp Crame, Quezon City.

“This government continuously shows us its propensity for condemning people and communities on the basis of “lists” and unverified reports.  This was true for the proscription petition which included hundreds of individuals and aliases who were not vetted by the Department of Justice, and were merely fed by the AFP, PNP, and NICA. The Department …

Karapatan hits DepEd for the shutdown of 55 Lumad schools, questions Esperon’s report Read More »

“Philippine government officials, whose cacophony of excuses for non-cooperation on the UN Human Rights Council resolution has pervaded recent news, are like wolves baying for more blood. Instead of welcoming an independent and modest action, they have strewn all possible alibis against the gathering of information on the facts regarding the human rights situation in …

Karapatan slams PH govt officials on their adverse reactions to UN HRC resolution Read More »

Press Release July 11, 2019 On July 11, 2019, the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) voted to pass the resolution tabled by Iceland, which asked member-states to take concrete steps on the promotion and protection of human rights in the Philippines during the council’s 41st session.

“As another two human rights defenders were gunned down in Negros Oriental and Bukidnon, Karapatan renews its call on member-states of the United Nations Human Rights Council to support Iceland’s resolution on the present rights situation in the Philippines,” Christina Palabay, Karapatan Secretary-General said.