• US must press Philippines military to stop abuses
    Commentary
    May 3, 2012

    Impunity for human-rights abuse perpetrated by Filipino soldiers and officers is an obstacle to closer ties. 

  • Philippines: Officials Hide Poor From Development Meeting
    Press release
    May 3, 2012
    The Philippine government built a fence that prevents participants to the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) annual meeting in Manila from seeing a slum.
  • Philippines: US Should Press for Justice
    Press release
    Apr 30, 2012

    The United States should press senior Philippine officials visiting Washington this week to fulfill the Aquino government’s commitment to bring abusive military personnel to justice.

  • ASEAN’s road to nowhere?
    Commentary
    Apr 26, 2012
    In July, the ASEAN foreign ministers meeting in Phnom Penh will receive one of the most important documents drafted since the adoption five years ago of the ASEAN Charter.
  • Some things don’t mix
    Commentary
    Apr 24, 2012
    Some valuable truths underlie Oplan Bayanihan, the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ 16-month-old internal peace and security plan. Chief among them are that the various insurgent groups in the Philippines are unlikely to be beaten by force alone, that better standards of living can curb the roots of the rebellions, and that the military could do more to “win the sentiment” of the general population. But in translating these truths into practice, something seems to have gotten warped along the way. The AFP’s practice of mixing soldiers with schools amply illustrates this misguidedness.
  • Philippines: People's courts or cold-blooded murder?
    Commentary
    Apr 18, 2012

    Targeted killings by the NPA are not new. The NPA was founded 43 years ago as the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, making it one of the longest-running Communist movements in the world. Since its inception, it has carried out such killings as part of what it calls “revolutionary justice.” This “justice” is often meted out after a conviction and sentencing by what the NPA calls its “people’s courts.” 

  • Letter to Lt. Gen. Jessie D. Dellosa, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines
    Letter
    Apr 1, 2012
    Congratulations on your appointment as chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). We look forward to working with you to improve human rights protection in the Philippines.
  • Philippines: Military Leadership Should Act on Abuses
    Press release
    Apr 1, 2012
    The leadership of the Armed Forces of the Philippines should take concrete steps to hold accountable soldiers responsible for human rights abuses.
  • Philippines: Keep Promise to Disband Paramilitaries
    Press release
    Mar 30, 2012
    The Philippine government’s plan to dismantle so-called private armies ahead of the local elections in 2013 should include the state-backed paramilitaries.
  • Philippines should stand for justice
    Commentary
    Mar 20, 2012
    Last month the Philippines abstained in a vote at the United Nations General Assembly calling for accountability for government atrocities in Syria.