Anna Bueno

The paper looks into the loans and grants incurred by the Philippine government to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. It includes a database of the relevant loans and grants with financing institutions, the highlights of the agreements, including their priority sectors and payment terms. The paper also includes a review of emerging international standards in promoting transparency, participation and accountability in COVID-19 loans, a rapid scanning of what accountability mechanisms and platforms are provided in Philippine COVID-19 loan and grant agreements, and the critical gaps in exacting accountability from the government's use of borrowed financing to respond to the pandemic.

This special report on the Philippines' freedom of speech online takes a multi-level approach by first going through government restrictions directly affecting and may result to violations of freedom of expression online and offline, especially in light of a law that transformed all penal provisions into cybercrimes. Second, the report also notes government actions and restrictions that, on their face, appear unrelated to clampdowns on freedom of expression, but nonetheless have the effect of self-censorship and chilling free speech and therefore may be cited again in the future as an indirect intrusion to free speech.

This policy paper presents justifications and recommendations for the amendment of the Philippine Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, with regard to the provisions on online libel and cybersex, and law’s implementing rules with regard to collection of computer data. The policy paper has three parts: 1) an introduction describing the context in which the law has been applied, its significance in combating cybercrime, and instances where its application violated human rights; 2) a review of the the three specific provisions sought to be removed/repealed; and 3) concrete recommendations to make the law more adherent with human rights standards as mandated by the Constitution and international treaties.