Presented to Atty. Neri Colmenares and Atty. Carlos Isagani Zarate by IBP president Antonio Pido during the group’s Governor’s Ball in Cebu City last January 30, the award” serves as an inspiration to people’s lawyers and human rights lawyers,” the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) said in its congratulatory message to two of its officers.
Elderly activist Myrna Cruz-Abraham is spending her 70th birthday today in jail, arrested last January 27 in San Rafael, Bulacan on a frustrated murder charge in Cagayan Province.
80 city mayors belonging to political dynasties are seeking reelection in May 2025. ‘The worst is having a mayor and a vice mayor who are related,” says political reform advocate Eirene Aguila.
GRP is undermining the peace process, violating the basic principles of mutual respect and accountability, NDFP chief negotiator Julie de Lima says.
“’Kala mo naman nalulugi ang mga kumpanya nila na bilyon-bilyon naman ang kinikita. These companies are posting billions in profits while ordinary Filipinos struggle to make ends meet,” pagpupuyos ni Zarate.
The NUPL said that FATF’s own recommendations on targeted financial sanctions and non-profit organizations have been weaponized “to suppress dissent and erode civic freedoms.”
“USC’s removal of TC office amid (the) students’ fearless inquiry on tuition and other school fees increase is a clear violation of the democratic rights of the students and its communities,” CEGP national spokesperson Brell Lacerna said.
The petitioners said Duterte has shown “gross disregard for ethical standards and the rule of law through his public admissions of leading a death squad, encouraging violence and gender-based abuse, fostering a culture of impunity, and by inciting the commission of extrajudicial killings.”
“Considering that the Supreme Court has already ruled that red-tagging threatens a person’s life, liberty and security,” added Palabay, “the series of inquiries being conducted by the CHR is an important step in coming up with a clear picture of how prevalent red-tagging is across the country and its detrimental effects on the conduct of human rights work, and what accountability mechanisms can be adopted to put a stop to it.”
The amount is staggering, Jean Encinas Franco, associate professor at the University of the Philippines’ Department of Political Science, told PCIJ. “It gives me a sense they are already using their own money,” she said. “Candidates cannot use their own money. When you have a stake in election spending, all the more you will be corrupt.”
