Amnesty International Philippines announces the appointment of Ritz Lee Santos, III, as its new Section Director, effective 1 November 2025. This appointment follows the passing of Butch Olano who served the organization with unwavering dedication from 2016 until 2024. This moment marks the first time in the organization’s history that its top leadership transition comes as a result of such a sudden loss. Amnesty International Philippines members and supporters across the country, and within the Amnesty movement around the world, have been anticipating a new leadership that will carry forward Olano’s vision of resistance and justice.

​​​Sonia is a lawyer and media commentator who has dedicated her life to defending human rights, standing up for the marginalized, and saying what others are afraid to, no matter the cost. She is a vocal critic of inhumane prison conditions and racism, regularly addressing these issues on television and radio shows. 

Since 2015, Juan tirelessly defended his local environment in northern Honduras from mining and energy projects which have threatened local rivers, forests and the Carlos Escaleras Mejía National Park. Local communities fear that the projects put the surrounding ecosystem and water quality at serious risk. 

Journalism is an extremely dangerous profession in Myanmar. More than 200 journalists have been imprisoned by the military since they took power in 2021. At least seven have been reportedly killed. Media outlets have been banned and forced into exile. 

In 2021, Damisoa and his family were forced to leave their home in the Androy region, southern Madagascar. Droughts worsened by climate change meant there wasn’t enough food to survive.  

The Guerreras por la Amazonía (Warriors for the Amazon) are a group of activists aged 10 to 20 years. They are fighting alongside the Union of People Affected by Texaco’s Oil Operations (UDAPT) and the Eliminen los Mecheros, Enciendan la Vida (Remove the Flares, Ignite Life) collective, to protect their communities from the toxic fumes and physical devastation caused by gas flares. Used in the process of extracting oil, gas flares are one of the largest contributors to the climate crisis.  

Climate displacement from the pacific islands of Tuvalu and Kiribati to Aotearoa New Zealand

Founded in 2014 by DJ Medmessiah, MoroBeats started as a creative group where individuals showcase their music, sound, local instruments and language, free from the stigma associated with being Moro. It wasn’t until 2015 when the group evolved into a collective of individuals celebrating their roots and individuality with hip-hop as their platform. 

Inaresto noong 11 Marso 2025 si dating Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte sa bisa ng arrest warrant mula sa International Criminal Court (ICC), para sa crime against humanity o krimen laban sa sangkatauhan na pagpatay.  

Responding to reports of the PNP’s violent dispersal of protesters during the anti-corruption rally in Manila on 21 September, Amnesty International Philippines Acting Director Jepie Papa said:

Today, Filipinos once again commemorate a dark time in Philippine history in honor of rights defenders and their families who endured repression, corruption, and grave human rights abuses under Marcos’ Martial Law. Their sacrifices remind us of the high cost of speaking up and standing strong against injustices of an authoritarian regime, and how the power of collective action spurs resistance towards freedom where no one gets left behind.

States, public institutions and companies the world over are enabling or profiting from Israel’s prolonged violations of international law, including its ongoing genocide against Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip, its unlawful occupation of the whole Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) and its cruel system of apartheid against all Palestinians whose rights it controls, through their complicity, support or self-imposed paralysis, said Amnesty International in a briefing published today outlining urgent calls to states and companies.