Human Rights

Judges at The Hague ordered the former president to remain in custody ahead of trial, after Malacañang said he appeared to be in good health at his first in-person appearance — an observation that cuts against his own defense team's argument that he cannot understand the proceedings against him.

The Philippines failed to win a non-permanent UN Security Council seat for 2027-2028, losing to Kyrgyzstan 142-49 after four voting rounds — Manila's first such defeat in nearly seven decades — and Malacañang pointed to the Senate's leadership turmoil as a factor, even as rights groups and analysts cited human rights concerns and shifting geopolitics.

Multisectoral groups formally launched the Philippine Truth and Reconciliation Commission on May 27 to document extrajudicial killings under Rodrigo Duterte's drug war, with former ICC judge and UP Law dean Raul Pangalangan as chair — the first organized domestic effort to build a comprehensive public record of atrocities that the ICC is now prosecuting in The Hague.

The International Criminal Court scheduled the opening of Rodrigo Duterte's trial for November 30, 2026, following a May 27 status conference where judges mapped out the proceedings on witness counts, evidence volumes, and possible additional incidents — while Duterte, still detained in The Hague, waived his right to appear.

The PNP is celebrating a 27% drop in crime for early 2026. But between a self-reporting data system, ongoing drug-operation deaths, and a UP study the police can't fully answer, Filipinos deserve to ask: are our streets actually safer, or are we just being told they are?

ICC pre-trial judges deny Duterte's request for an additional expert report ahead of his confirmation of charges hearing. His son Paolo visits him in The Hague as detention review is submitted.

A major ongoing political tension between the Duterte camp and the Marcos administration escalates with the failed impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte and the detention of former president Rodrigo Duterte over ICC investigations into alleged human rights violations.

The ICC case against Duterte has credibility issues because the chief prosecutor was disqualified for prior bias and two of three medical experts were removed for misconduct.

The CHR releases its multi-year EJK investigation findings, recommending prosecutions and institutional reforms. A landmark report on the human cost of the drug war in the Philippines.