Nov. 8, 2016 – Balay expressed its disappointed on the decision of the Supreme Court earlier today allowing the burial of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos in the Libingan ng mga Bayani (LnmB). The Supreme Court’s decision favored the burial of Marcos gaining 9 votes over 5.

Balay was able to document 44 allegations of torture within the third quarter of the year, covering the period July-September 2016. The victims are all residents in conflict-affected areas in Mindanao, notably in the island of Basilan where government forces are engaged in a deadly operations against the ‘lawless activities’ of the Abu Sayyaf Group, and in the Davao region and in North Cotabato where the New People’s Army has been posing an armed challenged against the Philippines security forces.

More than a hundred stakeholders from six localities in the northern part of Caloocan City participated in a forum on how to protect young people from criminality and to spare them from the aggressive government campaign against illegal drugs which have left around 3,000 people dead since July 2016.

Four torture survivors share their “life and struggles” in a testimonial ceremony held last September 27, 2016 at the Monument of Heroes (Bantayog ng mga Bayani), a landscaped memorial center honoring the people who lived and died in defiance of martial law under then President Ferdinand Marcos.