No mercy for Indonesian drug dealers, says Widodo in ‘just shoot’ policy
By Dames Alexander Sinaga in Jakarta President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has ordered law enforcers to shoot drug traffickers to deal with what he called a narcotics emergency facing the country. “No mercy...
View ArticleDuterte inspired by ‘Petrus’ shootings, says Indonesia’s Wiranto
Summary execution-style killings between 1982 and 1985, known locally as penembakan misterius (mysterious shootings), or Petrus, were infamous as a means of bringing down crime rates in the country...
View ArticleThousands of Filipinos demand end to killings in Duterte’s drug war
Children as young as five have become the latest victims in what’s believed to be the bloodiest week in the Philippines since President Rodrigo Duterte’s so-called ‘war on drugs’ began.Video: Al...
View ArticleDuterte’s brutal ‘war on the poor’ and also those reporting it
Al Jazeera’s Listening Post programme on the Philippine “war on drugs”. ANALYSIS: Presented by Richard Gizbert The most violent week yet in President Rodrigo Duterte’s Philippines has seen more than 90...
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Callamard slams $26 state budget for Philippine human rights body
By Paterno Esmaquel II in Manila United Nations Rapporteur Agnes Callamard has slammed the P1000 (NZ$26) budget that the House of Representatives voted to give the Philippine Commission on Human Rights...
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Urban battle for Marawi finally over – 1000 dead, says Philippines
Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk The five-month battle against terrorists in the southern Marawi City on Mindanao has ended, Philippine Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana announced today. “After 154 days...
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Philippines under Duterte – acute impunity and fettered information
ANALYSIS: By Malou Mangahas in Manila Eight years ago on 23 November 2009, 32 journalists were among the 58 who were killed in what is now known as the Maguindanao Massacre, until then the worst and...
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Philippine media freedom riskier, traumatic under Duterte, says PCIJ director
By Kendall Hutt in Auckland Being a journalist in the Philippines has become a lot tougher, riskier and traumatic in the face of President Rodrigo Duterte’s so-called “war on drugs” which has seen...
View ArticleRobredo slams extrajudicial killings, online trolls in Rights Day message
By Mara Cepeda in Manila On the eve of Human Rights Day, Philippine Vice-President Leni Robredo called on Filipinos to stand up against all forms of human rights abuses, including extrajudicial...
View ArticleDuterte on nationwide martial law – it’s up to ‘enemies of the state’
By Pia Ranada in Manila President Rodrigo Duterte says he will consider nationwide martial law if the New People’s Army steps up attacks. When asked if he would expand martial law coverage nationwide,...
View Article‘This isn’t the time to be silent,’ say writers defending Rappler
By Jee Y. Geronimo in Manila After the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) decision to revoke Rappler’s licence to operate in a blow to press freedom in the Philippines last week, several...
View ArticleNothing can stop Duterte extending Philippine martial law, says legal chief
By Lian Buan in Manila Philippine Solicitor-General Jose Calida says nothing – not the Supreme Court (SC) and not even the Constitution – can stop President Rodrigo Duterte and Congress from further...
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UN critics join global outrage over Duterte’s Rappler ‘free press’ attack
Rappler’s CEO and executive editor Maria Ressa says that the Philippine government spends a lot of effort to turn journalism into a crime which shouldn’t be the case. Video: Rappler BACKGROUNDER: By...
View ArticleDuterte vs Rappler: Declaration of war against Philippine media?
On The Listening Post this week: Rappler battles with authorities plus climate sceptics and the media platforms they get. Video: Al Jazeera As Rappler, a popular Manila news website, battles with...
View ArticleRappler links Duterte 2016 campaign to Philippine fake news ‘ecosystem’
By Christine O. Avendaño in Manila News website Rappler has found millions of false social media accounts spreading fake news linked originally to the 2016 Philippine campaign of President Rodrigo...
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RSF condemns new gagging threats to outspoken Philippine media outlets
Pacific Media Watch Newsdesk Kodao Productions, a Philippine alternative news website, is still down after being the target of a cyber-attack six days ago and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has...
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Marites Vitug: Duterte’s dangerously zero idea of independent journalism
ANALYSIS: By Marites Dañguilan Vitug in Manila A year ago, the White House barred some members of the press from attending an informal briefing, a rarity in a country that was regarded as the beacon of...
View ArticleICC withdrawal ‘a principled stand’, claims Philippines’ Foreign Secretary
By Paterno Esmaquel II in Manila Secretary of Foreign Affairs Alan Peter Cayetano claims the Philippines’ withdrawal from the International Criminal Court is “a principled stand” as nongovernmental...
View ArticleHow Philippine state surveillance is used as a tool to silence critics
BRIEFING: Special report by Jodesz Gavilan and Sofia Tomacruz in Manila Human rights activists say that the conduct of both physical and communication surveillance is prone to abuse and is a violation...
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Manila brands volunteer teachers as ‘terrorists’, say Lumad advocates
By Jean Bell in Auckland Volunteer teachers are being maliciously labelled as “terrorists” by the Philippine government while paramilitary and mining activity increases in the country, say visiting...
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