Toboso Revisited: A Fishpond, 19 Bodies, and a Crime Scene No One Preserved A month after a military operation in Negros Occidental left 19 people dead, mishandled evidence, submerged remains, and a frightened community stand between investigators and the truth. rightsreport.org/2026/05/21/t...

Toboso Revisited: A Fishpond, 19 Bodies, and a Crime Scene No One Preserved

A month after a military operation in Negros Occidental left 19 people dead, mishandled evidence, submerged remains, and a frightened community stand between investigators and the truth. Marchel P. Es...

rightsreport.org

UK Firm Was Paid Php9 Million a Month to ‘Rebrand’ Marcos Name. Then Came the Floods. Whale Hunting, following reporting by Philippine news outlets, reveals an intl image operation built around the son of a kleptocrat and the corruption it was designed to obscure. rightsreport.org/2026/05/20/m...

UK Firm Was Paid Php9 Million a Month  to ‘Rebrand’ Marcos Name. Then Came the Floods.

The investigative outfit Whale Hunting, on the heels of significant reporting by Philippine news outlets, reveals a sophisticated international image operation built around the son of a kleptocrat — a...

rightsreport.org

Court Throws Out Terrorism Financing Case vs Cebu NGO Workers, Who Vow to Sue Govt A Cebu court found the charges rested on a terrorist designation that did not exist when the alleged acts took place—exposing a prosecution that critics say was never about terrorism. rightsreport.org/2026/05/19/c...

Court Throws Out Terrorism Financing Case vs Cebu NGO Workers, Who Vow to Sue Govt

A Cebu court found the charges rested on a terrorist designation that did not exist when the alleged acts took place — exposing a prosecution that critics say was never...

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After a deadly clash left 19 people dead, including two children, soldiers swept through a remote farming community, searching homes and leaving residents too frightened to step outside for days. Marchel P. Espina reports from Toboso. rightsreport.org/2026/05/18/s...

‘Sir, Sibilyan Kami!’: Soldiers Swept Through Toboso Village, Searching People’s Homes, Harassing Residents

After a deadly clash left 19 people dead, including two children, soldiers swept through a remote farming community, searching homes and leaving residents too frightened to step outside for days....

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ANALYSIS: The Office of the Solicitor General produced what many legal scholars are calling the most consequential brief in years. It also inadvertently made the case for why the Philippines needs to go back to the ICC, Carlos Conde argues. rightsreport.org/2026/05/18/b...

Good Law, No Will: What the OSG’s Position on Senator Bato Actually Means

ANALYSIS: The Office of the Solicitor General  produced what many legal scholars are calling the most consequential brief in years. It also inadvertently made the case for why the Philippines...

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RA 9851: When the Law’s Proponents Become Its Enemies ANALYSIS: The fate of the Philippines’ most powerful accountability statute – the law on crimes against humanity – is not an irony. It is a diagnosis of the rot in our political culture, Carlos Conde writes. rightsreport.org/2026/05/16/r...

RA 9851: When the Law’s Proponents Become Its Enemies

ANALYSIS: The fate of the Philippines' most powerful accountability statute – the law on crimes against humanity – is not an irony. It is a diagnosis of the rot in...

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Jailed Filipino Journalist Wins 'Courage in Journalism' Award “The world recognizes in Frenchie Mae a journalist imprisoned for doing her job — and in that recognition lies the most damning vindication of her work and cause as a people’s journalist.” – NUPL rightsreport.org/2026/05/15/c...

Jailed Filipino Journalist Wins International ‘Courage in Journalism’ Award

"The world recognizes in Frenchie Mae a journalist imprisoned for doing her job — and in that recognition lies the most damning vindication of her work and cause as a...

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When Duterte was useful to deliver to the ICC, Marcos found the mechanism. When delivering Bato dela Rosa was inconvenient, the mechanism became invisible--and the fugitive became a ghost. The pattern is too clean to be coincidence & too sustained to be incompetence. rightsreport.org/2026/05/15/s...

Let’s Be Clear: Marcos Doesn’t Have an ICC Policy. He Has a Duterte Policy.

OPINION: When Rodrigo Duterte was useful to deliver to The Hague, Marcos found the mechanism.  When delivering Bato dela Rosa was inconvenient, the mechanism became invisible — and the fugitive...

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Loren Helped Bring the Philippines to the ICC. Now She’s on Duterte’s Side. The senator once said the Philippines joined the ICC to ensure impunity would never be tolerated. Her son Leandro’s legal battle with the Marcos administration provides a clue for her pivot. rightsreport.org/2026/05/13/l...

EDITORIAL: History Is Patient. So Is The Hague. None of this means justice is inevitable, or that Dela Rosa will board a plane to The Hague tomorrow. Impunity fights hard on its way out. rightsreport.org/2026/05/12/b...

EDITORIAL: History Is Patient. So Is The Hague.

None of this means justice is inevitable, or that Dela Rosa will board a plane to The Hague tomorrow. Impunity fights hard on its way out. THERE is a quote,...

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Toboso Probe Underway: CHR Subpoenas Army Files on Clash, but Some Families Refuse to Talk CHR investigators, who recently conducted a walk-through at the site of the clash, say coordination with state security forces has been a challenge. Marchel Espina reports. rightsreport.org/2026/05/12/t...

Toboso Probe Underway: CHR Subpoenas Army Files on Clash, but Some Families Refuse to Talk

CHR investigators, who recently conducted a walk-through at the site of the clash, say coordination with state security forces has been a real challenge. Marchel P. Espina reports. Randy Toto,...

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How the Army, Aided by Residents and Drones, Set a Deadly Trap to Pin Down Toboso Casualties Residents heard the first shots before sunrise. By afternoon, 19 people were dead — and a small community in Negros Occidental was left trying to understand what happened. rightsreport.org/2026/05/11/t...

Defeated at Every Turn While Offending the ICC with His Media Antics, Duterte’s Lead Lawyer Exits Nicholas Kaufman’s contract expired and his conduct drew official rebukes — but the real story is that he ran out of legal road. rightsreport.org/2026/05/09/k...

The Jay Sonza Cyberlibel Conundrum: Miss by an Inch, Miss by a Mile Allowing an unjust law to crush a propagandist today only sharpens the blade that will inevitably be used against legitimate journalists tomorrow, Cong Corrales argues. rightsreport.org/2026/05/08/s...

How ASEAN Keeps Looking Away as Human Rights Deteriorates When members kill their own citizens, the bloc’s political forums look away, its rights body says nothing, and its doctrine of non-interference provides the institutional cover for all of it. rightsreport.org/2026/05/08/a...

48th ASEAN SUMMIT: How Southeast Asia Keeps Looking Away as Human Rights Deteriorates

When ASEAN members kill their own citizens, the bloc's political forums look away, its human rights body says nothing, and its founding doctrine of non-interference provides the institutional cover fo...

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From Rappler to Human Rights Watch: Lian Buan Steps Into a Critical Role Lian Buan of Rappler is joining Human Rights Watch as its new Philippines researcher. She will be only the second Filipino in HRW’s history to hold the position, after Carlos Conde rightsreport.org/2026/05/06/l...

From Rappler to Human Rights Watch: Lian Buan Steps Into a Critical Role

MANILA — Lian Buan, a senior investigative reporter at Rappler, is joining Human Rights Watch as its new Philippines researcher, an appointment set to be formally announced soon. She will...

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‘Red-Tagging Must Stop.’ CHR Offers Ways to Make that Happen. The Philippine’s own rights body released a report on red-tagging, its second in 6 years, that lays out exactly what needs to happen. The question is whether anyone in power will act on it this time. rightsreport.org/2026/05/06/r...

#WorldPressFreedomDay #WPFD2026

By Spinning #Toboso19 Killings Before Credible Probe, Marcos Govt Violates International Law The Marcos govt has framed its response to Toboso as though the military’s declaration of “success” is the default conclusion. International law says the opposite. rightsreport.org/2026/04/30/t...

By Spinning Toboso Killings Before Credible Probe, Marcos Govt Violates International Law

NEWS ANALYSIS:  The Marcos administration has framed its response to Toboso as though the burden of proof rests with the families of the dead, as though the military's declaration of...

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Sued for Doing Her Job, Cagayan de Oro Journalist Fights Back, Questions Misuse of CyberCrime Law A radio news director in Cagayan de Oro published chat screenshots to document why an official canceled a promised interview. Now she faces up to six years in prison. rightsreport.org/2026/04/29/m...

Sued for Doing Her Job, Cagayan de Oro Journalist Fights Back, Questions Misuse of CyberCrime Law

A radio news director in Cagayan de Oro published screenshots of a private chat with a city official to document why a promised interview was canceled. Now she faces up...

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WATCH: THE AGONY OF NEGROS: Unanswered Questions and the Dehumanization of Rebels and Dissenters, with @indayevarona @carloshconde @danabatnag rightsreport.org/2026/04/28/n...

WATCH: THE AGONY OF NEGROS: Unanswered Questions and the Dehumanization of Rebels and Dissenters

When young people — some of them students and children — are killed in military encounters in the Philippine countryside, the questions don't stop at who fired first. In this...

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Toboso 19: The Communist Party's admission that nine of the 19 killed were not its combatants shifts the burden squarely onto the Armed Forces — and onto whatever investigation is still credible enough to find the truth. rightsreport.org/2026/04/28/t...

Toboso 19: The Communists Named Their Own Fighters. Now the Government Owes Answers About the Rest.

NEWS ANALYSIS: The Communist Party's admission that nine of the 19 killed were not its combatants shifts the burden squarely onto the Armed Forces of the Philippines — and onto...

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FOG OF WAR OR COVER-UP? #Negros19

Rights Report Philippines@rightsreportph.bsky.social · 3mo ago

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? rightsreport.org/2026/04/26/t...

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. rightsreport.org/2026/04/27/z...

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. JUST after 1:30...

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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? rightsreport.org/2026/04/26/t...

‘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. rightsreport.org/2026/04/25/n...

‘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. WHEN nine sugarcane farmers were gunned down while eating dinner...

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Why the Laws of War Matter in Places Like Negros — and Why They Are Routinely Ignored 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. rightsreport.org/2026/04/24/i...

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. WHEN human....

rightsreport.org

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. rightsreport.org/2026/04/23/n...

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 ans...

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Duterte’s Lawyer Is Right About the ICC Seeking Relevance. He’s Just Wrong About Why. NEWS ANALYSIS by Carlos Conde: The ICC handed drug war families something no Philippine court ever did: a real shot at accountability. Pres. Marcos has no excuse not to meet it. rightsreport.org/2026/04/23/i...

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. NICHOLAS Kaufman...

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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 Asian history. rightsreport.org/2026/04/22/d...

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...

rightsreport.org