Philippines - February 2025

On 5 February, lawmakers voted to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte over several allegations, including for high-level corruption and threatening President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The development follows months of an escalating feud between Marcos and Duterte. The impeachment motion cited constitutional violations, betrayal of public trust, graft, and other serious crimes. An investigation into the misuse of public funds related to Duterte's roles as vice president and former education secretary is ongoing. Duterte denies any wrongdoing and will remain in office until her Senate impeachment trial, likely set for July after the midterm elections. If convicted, she could be removed from office and barred from future government positions, though it is uncertain if this would lead to a criminal case requiring her to return public funds.

Sources: Rappler, Reuters, East Asia Forum

According to local human rights lawyers, terrorism financing cases rose from 14 in 2023 to 66 in 2024—a 371 per cent increase, primarily targeting activists and human rights defenders. Many of the reported cases have involved individuals accused by the government of links to the communist insurgency, a claim often tied to the country’s widespread practice of “red tagging.” The findings came to light as the Philippines, in February, was removed from the “grey list” of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an intergovernmental organization supervising the international financial system. The designation had long restricted trade and financial transactions for Filipinos. While government officials welcomed the development, rights experts and advocates have warned that this coincides with the government’s escalating efforts to file baseless charges against civil society and activists. Human Rights Watch states that FATF standards have been weaponized to suppress dissent and arbitrarily freeze the assets of civil society groups.

Sources: Human Rights Watch, The Diplomat, Rappler, International IDEA