TSEK.PH Launched Eleven news organizations and three universities signed a memorandum of understanding for TSEK.PH a collaborative fact-checking project, at the University of the Philippines on February 11, 2019. They are teaming up to fact-check claims related to the May 13, 2019 midterm elections. The three partners from the academe UP, De La Salle University, and Ateneo de Manila University can help "put in context how the [media] partners have approached" the fact checks, in case newsrooms differ in their evaluation of a claim. The full coverage of TSEK.PH LAUNCH can be accessed at : https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/fact-check/223179-tsek-ph-project-newsrooms-universities-fact-check-claims?fbclid=IwAR2D7fxO2LNuzlE0p7IakEEsixHRJ-1Z8NQjCM8R4TE1Awe_5Vxyn-Dw28E

Cyber libel case against Maria Ressa, deficient - Prof. JJ Disini Prof. JJ Disini, representing Rappler CEO Maria Ressa, plans for a motion to quash the cyber libel case, seeing "deficiencies" in the prosecution's position. The case arises from a 2012 article on Rappler predating by some months the Cybercrime Prevention Act (2012) and republished in 2014, but the libel charge was filed only in 2017. The ABS-CBN radio interview with Professor Disini may be accessed at https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/02/14/19/cyber-libel-case-vs-rappler-riddled-with-deficiencies-ressa-lawyer?fbclid=IwAR2GZRK71qlPpSoLNC126WXB8lx7PyonlxRc3DjjVfYVyonEFmZjGB9pkcw  

Multiple republication not applied to cyber libel law Prof. Theodore Te on the enactment of law ex post facto and on multiple republication as applied to the cyber libel case filed against Maria Ressa during a roundtable discussion on the talk show The Chiefs: https://www.facebook.com/ONENewsPH/videos/396431544454249/  

UP IHR releases Q&A on Lowering the Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility Following the proposed lowering of the minimum age of criminal responsibility in the Philippines, the University of the Philippines Law Center Institute of Human Rights has released on their Facebook page the "Q&A on Lowering the Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility." This Q&A briefer will guide and inform the public on the human rights issues arising from or relating to the proposed legislation, discussing it not just through the legal lens, but in consideration of the factors contributing to the actions of children. The briefer can be viewed…

UP IHR conducts RTD on EJK, hosts Harvard Law School interns The University of the Philippines Law Center Institute of Human Rights (U.P. IHR), in collaboration with the Anti-Extrajudicial Killing Network, conducted a roundtable discussion (RTD) on the extrajudicial killings (EJK) prevention in the Philippines. The event was held at the 1st floor lecture room of Bocobo Hall, UP Law Center on January 24, 2019. Titled “Coalition Building for the Prevention of Extrajudicial Killings,” the RTD was attended by families of victims of EJK, members of human rights-based non-governmental organizations, UP IHR research assistants and law students. U.P. IHR Director…

Analysis of Philippines-China MOU on Cooperation in Oil and Gas Development Professor Dr. Jay Batongbacal continues to inform the public on maritime developments in the West Philippine Sea. Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative of 5 December 2018 carries his updated analysis on the MOU signed during the recent visit of President Xi Jinping’s visit to the country. The maritime law expert had earlier analyzed an unofficially released draft of the MOU, also carried by the AMTI of 21 November, but “amid mounting demands for transparency and full release of the government’s reported 29 deals signed with China, particularly the MOU, the…