A United Nations (UN) expert urged the Philippine government to enact legal and institutional reforms, warning that impunity, red-tagging, and attacks on civil society still undermine freedom of expression despite recent efforts.
In a report presented to the 59th session of the UN Human Rights Council, Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression Irene Khan recommended that the Philippines adopt an executive order denouncing red-tagging, ratify key international human rights treaties, and revisit its withdrawal from the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
Khan’s final report came following her official visit to the Philippines in 2024, during which she met with government officials, civil society groups, journalists, and victims of rights violations.
While she acknowledged the country’s vibrant media landscape and active civil society, she raised serious concern over continuing patterns of red-tagging, slow judicial processes, prolonged pretrial detentions, and a culture of impunity in cases involving attacks on journalists and human rights defenders.
Khan called on the Marcos administration to issue an executive order that explicitly condemns red-tagging and penalizes those responsible.
According to her report, over 450 red-tagging incidents were documented in the first half of 2024 alone, with 61 percent attributed to government actors and 17 percent targeting youth. At least eight individuals publicly red-tagged were later murdered.
“Red-tagging isolates and antagonizes those who are targeted, putting them in a vulnerable position and possibly increasing their risk of being exploited by others,” Khan warned.
“The vilification is deeply unfair, as there is no effective recourse against false accusations,” she added.
She further urged the government to provide adequate support and protection for victims, including legal remedies through the Ombudsman, Commission on Human Rights, or the courts.
The Special Rapporteur also emphasized the need to address the slow pace of justice in the Philippines, citing extended detentions without bail and delays that “make a travesty of justice and equate the innocent with the guilty.”
“I found ongoing impunity regarding the killings of journalists and that must end,” she said. “While some progress has been made in a few cases, there is great need for bolder efforts to ensure accountability.”
In line with this, Khan encouraged the government to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and rejoin the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court to strengthen its international human rights commitments.
“Both instruments would significantly enhance human rights protection and support the enjoyment of the right to freedom of expression,” she said.
Khan concluded that reforms since June 2022 remain insufficient and urged the Philippine government to take stronger action to protect press freedom, end red-tagging, and uphold human rights, which she said would send a “strong signal of the government’s readiness to move away from the past.”
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