2021 National Human Rights Situation Report 1 Introduction The Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines (CHR), as the country’s national rights institution (NHRI) mandated by the 1987 Philippine Constitution to monitor the Philippine government’s compliance with human rights obligations, submits this 2021 annual report on the human rights situation in the Philippines entitled, Continuing Rights Challenges in a Pandemic. This human rights national situation report discusses the Philippine Human Rights National Situation 2021 by (1) laying down the Civil and Political Rights (CPRs) conditions, which focus on the freedom against discrimination, rights of persons deprived of liberty, Extra-Judicial Killings (EJKs), Anti-Terrorism Law, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests and detention, right to security, and right to information; (2) providing the Economic, Social, Cultural Rights situations, which primarily tackles the right to health, right to education, right to social security, labor and migrant rights, and rights of indigenous people; and (3) presenting the Collective and Sectoral Rights statuses, which concentrate on the rights of women, children, older persons, persons with disabilities, internally displaced persons, human rights defenders, and LGBTQIA+. Some rights are cross-cutting and therefore do not fit to a particular categorization, but this report still puts specific rights into a category in which its issues and concerns primarily revolve. The order of presentation does not prescribe any priority over the other categories or impose that one category is superior to the other. The State, as the primary duty-bearer, shall protect and promote these rights. Lastly, this Report offers recommendations to the government in addressing the various human rights and issues and concerns to improve the country’s human rights situation. The report utilizes a variety of data gathering methods to surface key human rights trends that have transpired during the current calendar. Field data from the different CHR regional offices were processed and collated into regional human rights reports of which certain parts are referenced in this consolidated national report. Thematic concerns particularly those involving vulnerable and marginalized groups are also discussed in the succeeding sections of this report. This report also includes information derived from regional human rights monitoring activities from 01 July to 31 December 2020. Owing to internal procedures, such reports are submitted to the CHR Central Office every 31st of January of the calendar year. Updates to such cases are also provided whenever such information becomes available during the present observation period. In addition, the data from the first semester regional situation reports covering the period of January to June 2021 are likewise analysed and included in this report to provide additional primary data on the human rights situation on the ground for the current year. Information from government websites responsible for particular rights are analyzed for relevant data. This is to ensure that triangulation of data sets sourced from state duty bearers are integrated in the analysis contained in this report. Secondary sources such as reports from verified media outlets have been regularly collected and monitored and later are subjected to content analysis. As part of analytical protocols, the information derived from this source are then catalogued in an internal database that classifies the type of right that is covered within a particular new story. Multiple coders are employed to check the classification of stories to ensure data integrity. Political and security context with an impact on the protection of human rights 1 Authoritarian populism and liberal democratic pushback represent the two major contending forces that played out in the political landscape of the Philippines in 2021. On one hand, the continuing pressures against democratic institutions have been observed