Philippines

Status: Civil Society or public discussion

In the Philippines, there exists no law or policy for the protection of human rights defenders. However, two draft laws are being discussed and are pending before the House of Representatives. In the meantime, the situation of human rights defenders in the country remains dire.

From 2016 to 2020, under the administration of Rodrigo Duterte, human rights in the Philippines deteriorated dramatically; not only human rights as a inalienable rights, but also HRDs, human rights institutions and mechanics were severely threatened. Duterte’s war on drugs policies claimed the lives of more than 7000 individuals and impunity of state agents worsened as the president publicly declared guaranteed protection for government security forces for violence and killings. Furthermore, Duterte’s administration withdrew the Philippines as a state party from the Rome Statute of the ICC. The Philippines registered the highest number of attacks and killings of land and environmental HRDs during Duterte’s administration. In fact, during that period, Duterte attempted declare as a terrorist the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

The current situation of human rights in the Philippines is very much a continuation of the situation under the previous Duterte’s administration. Despite the election of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (son of the former Filipino dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr.) in 2022, violations of fundamental rights are recurrent in the Philippines and the civic space is significantly constrained; under the present Marcos administration we see the continuance of the war on drugs killings, red-tagging and attacks against HRDs, impunity for state perpetrated violations, opposition to the accession to the ICC and refusal to accept crucial human rights recommendations from UN human rights bodies.

In this context, HRDs in the country face multiple threats. Public authorities systematically intimidate and censor HRDs for speaking up against human rights violations resulting from state policies. Although the legal framework  in the Philippines protects fundamental rights and freedoms, the authorities fail to comply  with their obligations and repeatedly exploit some specific laws and regulations to harass HRDs. Surveillance, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings are examples of persistent attacks against HRDs, especially environmental and Indigenous HRDs. In fact, the Philippines are one of the deadliest countries  in the world for environmental HRDs.

Furthermore, public officers have used the “red-tagging” method for decades to smear HRDs’ credibility by publicly linking the organisations or individuals to banned communist groups, in particular the New People’s Army. This leaves HRDs more vulnerable to other types of harassment and even death. Some cases of “red-tagging” have grown into cases of “terrorist-tagging” due to the abuse of the Anti-terror Act, put in place during Duterte’s administration, to target HRDs and CSO.   In May 2024, the Supreme Court of the Philippines declared that “red-tagging, vilification, labelling, and guilt by association threaten a person’s right to life, liberty, or security.”

In the Philippines, there is currently a public discussion on public policies for the protection of HRDs. There are two drafts of legal instruments being discussed at the national level. The first is the draft Human Rights Defenders Promotion Act, that was presented to the Filipino Senate in 2021. The draft law does not foresee the creation of a mechanism for the protection of HRDs. In order for this law to be adopted, the Senate needs to pass it and send it for approval by the President. The second draft public policy is the 2022 Human Rights Defenders Protection Act [House Bill No. 77]. It contains a definition of HRD that is identical to the one put forth by the UN HRD Declaration and, in line with the 2018 Act, outlines the rights and freedoms of HRDs, including the consequences for its violations. This Act also contains the creation of a mechanism for the protection of HRDs, which would take form in a Human Rights Defenders Protection Committee (Chapter IV) and whose mandate would include, among others, receiving complaints and monitoring the enforcement of the law.  In order for this bill to be turned into a law, it needs the approval of the Filipino Senate, House of Representatives and President. Nonetheless, this 2022 draft bill has been criticised by the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict, a government organised body created under the previous President’s administration, calling it a “grave, vicious, and insidious threat against the Philippines’ democratic way of life”.

The Philippines is monitored by the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, but the country has never received any visit from this UN Special Procedure. Still, current UN Special Rapporteur on HRDs, Mary Lawlor, has highlighted the Philippines as one of the countries where women HRDs face higher risks, which has been recently corroborated by other UN experts. She has also flagged an increase on the use of “red-tagging “against migrant HRDs. Similarly, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, reported on the situation of human rights in the Philippines in 2020 and denounced the recurrent attacks against HRDs, including “red-tagging”.

In 2024, the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression visited the country and, in her preliminary conclusions, exposed the continuation of threats, vilification and violence against journalists and human rights defenders in the Philippines in spite of the change of administration in 2022, calling for the adoption of the Human Rights Defenders law.

The Philippines are equally monitored through the Universal Periodic Review (UPR). The country was last reviewed in 2022. In their shadow reports, stakeholders highlighted the systematic “red-tagging” against HRDs, the reprisals of the government against HRDs who criticise public policies and the vulnerability of environmental HRDs. The working group repeatedly recommended the adoption of laws protecting HRDs, the assurance of effective and impartial investigations to attacks against HRDs and the creation of a safe and enabling environment for HRDs. While the Philippines supported some recommendations, it only noted the recommendations regarding the enacting of the HRDs protection bill into law. Similarly, the Filipino administration only noted the recommendations to end the practice of “red-tagging” or to ensure the creation of a safe and enabling environment for HRDs.

CIVICUS rated the Philippines as “repressed”, which means that civic space is significantly constrained. Freedom House Index rates the Philippines as “partly free”. Concerns include lack of freedom in the media, government corruption, impunity and unequal treatment.

PI has a permanent filed presence in the Philippines. You can find out more about PI’s work in the Philippines here.

 [Updated on 01/07/2024]