Statements and Media Releases

The Center for Women’s Resources joins human rights groups and women’s and child rights organizations in condemning the Philippine military for violating the International Humanitarian Law (IHL) when they held hostage a 2-month-old infant and two pregnant women in a desperate attempt to force surrenderers among revolutionaries.
Baby Rhea, whose parents are both NPA (New People’s Army) fighters, was born while her mother was held captive by the AFP. Baby Rhea was eventually turned over to her grandmother after subsequent demands by different groups.

The Center for Women’s Resources joins civil society, people’s organizations, and all concerned Filipino citizens in calling for the suspension of SIM registration. The first days of the implementation of SIM registration have been marred by technical challenges and threats to digital security and privacy.

The Center for Women’s Resources stands in solidarity with human rights defenders from Gabriela, Karapatan, and Rural Missionaries of the Philippines (RMP), and reverberates the call to drop trumped-up charges of perjury filed by former National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. against them.

Yesterday, October 10, President Marcos Jr. signed the SIM Registration Law, making it the first law enacted under his administration. The law requires users to register their SIM cards using valid government IDs and documents. Legislators in support of the bill claim its relevance as a means to stop fraudulent spam messages and targeted text scams that became a recurring problem experienced by users since the height of the pandemic. Although this is a legitimate problem for many, the SIM Card Registration Law poses risks to women’s rights to communication, privacy, and digital security.

The Center for Women’s Resources (CWR) raises alarm over the illegal arrest of Kilusang Mayo Uno’s International Officer, Kara Taggaoa, and transport leader Larry Valbuena of PASODA-PISTON.