PHILIPPINES: Mid-term report on the UPR of the Philippines
Report date: February, 2026
Description:
The International Observatory of Lawyers at Risk (OIAD), together with Lawyers for Lawyers, The Law Society of England and Wales, International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute, the Foundation Day of the Endangered Lawyers and the European Association of Lawyers for Democracy and World Human Rights (ELDH) has submitted a mid-term report on the United Nations Universal Periodic Review of the Phillipines. This mid-term Report is a review of the implementation of recommendations regarding the rule of law and the role of lawyers partially accepted by Philippines during the UPR Fourth Cycle.
This review focuses on recommendations regarding the status and rights of lawyers in the Philippines. During the Fourth Cycle of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), the Philippines received a total of 289 recommendations. Among these recommendations, 21 of them specifically related to the protection of human rights defenders, including lawyers; seven called for an end to “red tagging” and for reforms to legislation underpinning the “war on drugs” and anti-terrorism laws. 21 other recommendations addressed increased accountability for extrajudicial killings and other grave human rights violations affecting lawyers and human rights defenders.
For the purposes of this report, the signatory organisations focus on three relevant areas:
- The independence of lawyers as a foundation for the rule of law
- Patterns of human rights violations against lawyers
- Accountability for violations committed against lawyers
This submission presents the signatory organisations’ findings on the Philippines’ implementation of these recommendations, drawing on their ongoing work in the country, including the Caravana Filipina fact-finding mission conducted in 2024. The findings indicate that the Philippines has not adequately implemented the accepted recommendations. Authorities have failed to take action to ensure that lawyers can perform their professional duties freely, without intimidation, hindrance, harassment, or improper interference. Documented incidents of violence against legal professionals are part of a broader, systematic effort to suppress lawyers working to uphold human rights and the rule of law. Practices such as surveillance, intimidation, red tagging, lawfare, and extrajudicial killings persist, creating a chilling effect that extends to the wider legal profession.
The signatory organisations therefore call on the Philippine authorities to take urgent action to protect lawyers, implement the UPR recommendations in full, end the practice of red tagging, review and amend anti-terrorism and related legislation, and ensure accountability for violations committed against legal professionals.
