Killings, harassment, and intimidation of government critics persisted in the Philippines in 2025, with little progress in holding security forces accountable, according to Human Rights Watch.
In its World Report 2026, released Tuesday, the rights group said the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. failed to curb abuses by state forces, even as it took the unprecedented step of transferring former President Rodrigo Duterte to the International Criminal Court over alleged crimes tied to the country’s deadly “war on drugs.”
“President Marcos should move beyond rhetoric and take concrete measures to improve human rights in the Philippines,” said Bryony Lau, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
“Killings and other abuses by security forces will persist unless the government thoroughly investigates and prosecutes those responsible, regardless of their rank or position,” Lau added.
Human Rights Watch said drug-related killings continued with impunity, citing weak domestic accountability mechanisms.
It reported that only one successful prosecution related to drug war killings occurred in 2025, pointing to the September conviction of a police colonel for homicide in Baguio City.
The report also documented continued targeted killings by hired assassins, often described as “death squads,” targeting journalists, activists, and politicians in Manila and other urban centers.
On June 23, a hooded gunman shot dead Ali Macalintal, a transgender rights activist who worked as a radio commentator on the southern island of Mindanao.
Human Rights Watch further flagged the continued use of “red-tagging,” describing it as government harassment, intimidation, and threats against individuals and organizations accused of links to communist insurgents.
The practice, the group said, targeted leftist activists, land rights defenders, labor leaders, and young human rights defenders, creating a chilling effect on freedom of expression and association.
The 529-page World Report 2026, the organization’s 36th edition, reviews human rights practices in more than 100 countries.
In the report’s introductory essay, Executive Director Philippe Bolopion wrote that breaking the authoritarian wave sweeping the world “is the challenge of a generation,” warning that the global human rights system faces unprecedented threats from the Trump administration and other global powers.
He called on rights-respecting democracies and civil society to build a strategic alliance to defend fundamental freedoms.
Duterte was arrested on charges of the crime against humanity of murder linked to extrajudicial killings committed during his tenure as Davao City mayor and later as president.
Judges at the ICC will hear evidence to determine whether to confirm the charges and send the case to trial, Human Rights Watch said.
The group also urged the Marcos administration to ensure that the Philippines, which will chair the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in 2026, promotes human rights regionally while addressing persistent rights violations at home.
