April 27, 2026: Latest human rights news from Rights Report Philippines
CIVIC SPACE · DISINFORMATION · FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION · WOMEN · BUSINESS AND HUMAN RIGHTS · INSURGENCY · IHL · HEALTH AND HUMAN RIGHTS · ARBITRARY ARREST · CHILDREN · TORTURE · DRUG WAR
19 Dead Bodies and the Army’s Claims That Don’t Add Up
A 12-hour running gunfight should leave plenty of evidence: spent casings, trampled paths, bloodstains, bullet holes in trees or structures. These should have been documented by now. What are they hiding in Toboso?
‘Negros 19’ Deaths Need to Be Investigated. But Who Is Credible Enough to Do it?
After 19 were killed in Negros Occidental, everyone calls for an investigation. History shows why that may not be enough.
Why the Laws of War Matter in Places Like Negros — and Why They Are Routinely Ignored
CONTEXT CHECK: Both sides in the Philippines’ communist insurgency have formally committed to follow the rules of war. In Negros Occidental and elsewhere, they have repeatedly broken them.
Negros Burns, Again: Death of 19 in Army Raid Raises Hard, Familiar Questions
Nineteen people are dead and hundreds displaced after a military operation in Negros Occidental. The military called it a decisive victory against the communists. Human rights groups are demanding answers.
Another ‘Nanlaban’ Claim: Boy, Dad, Cousin Killed in Police Raid for Militant
A joint military-police operation targeting a suspected militant left three members of a Zamboanga City family dead. The man they were looking for was not among them.
Duterte’s Lawyer Is Right About the ICC Seeking Relevance. He’s Just Wrong About Why.
NEWS ANALYSIS: The ICC handed drug war families something no Philippine court ever did: a real shot at accountability. President Marcos has no excuse not to meet it.
Stark Warning from Amnesty on the State of Human Rights
Amnesty International paints a mixed picture of the Philippines, where rights abuses persist
This Group Helped Put Duterte’s Words on Trial at the ICC
Most Filipinos have never heard of No Peace Without Justice. But for nearly a decade, this Rome-based advocacy group quietly helped build one of the most consequential human rights cases in Southeast Asian history: the International Criminal Court prosecution of a sitting head of state for crimes against humanity.
If The Hague Can’t Help, Can Manila?
A ruling against the ICC’s jurisdiction on the Duterte case would leave thousands of Filipino families with few good options — and a government that has shown little appetite to be the answer.
What RFK Award to Filipino Lawyers Group Means for Human Rights in the Philippines and Beyond
The 43rd RFK Human Rights Award goes to the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers, whose members have faced killings, red-tagging, and state harassment for defending the poor and the oppressed. NUPL, like other legal aid groups before it, was born out of the Philippines’ long struggle for justice and accountability.
New Advocacy Hub Launched to Shield Human Rights Defenders
Kalasag taps a growing civil society coalition to protect activists, journalists, lawyers, and community leaders at risk
