Wes Bruer Freelance journalist covering militancy and conflict Until 23 May 2017, Samira Gutoc had been a human rights activist and a resident of Marawi, a lakeside city on the southern Philippine...
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An island in the Philippines hopes for peace but braces for war
Civilians on Mindanao fear the rise of extremists linked to so-called Islamic State Wes Bruer After years of bloodshed, the southern Philippine island of Mindanao is on the verge of a hard-won peace...
Muslim “profiling” under martial law in the Philippines
Wes Bruer ILLIGAN CITY/PHILIPPINES, 17 August 2017 The black-clad police toting semi-automatic rifles barely get a glance from children glued to the TV as officers search their home in Illigan City,...
Starvation threatens hundreds trapped by fighting in Philippine city
Hundreds of people trapped in the southern Philippines city of Marawi are on the verge of starvation after four weeks of fighting between the army and Islamist militants. Read the full article on IRIN
Inside Marawi: Death toll nears 100 as Philippines security forces battle Islamist militants
MARAWI/PHILIPPINES, 29 May 2017, Two women in a white pick-up were sobbing as they inched forward in a crush of vehicles leaving the besieged southern Philippines city of Marawi. In the back lay the...
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Why do peace deals fall at the final hurdle?
By James Bean In the lead-up to the Colombian peace referendum on 2 October, Colombian president and Nobel laureate Manuel Santos said, “I don’t have a Plan B because Plan B is going back to war.”...
Will Duterte's offensive against Islamist militants in the Philippines backfire?
By David Doyle ZAMBOANGA/PHILIPPINES, 30 September 2016 At dusk, the blue-grey peaks of Basilan look serene, rising out of the tranquil sea that separates them from the Philippine city of Zamboanga...
Philippines has built only 1% of homes promised after Typhoon Haiyan
By David Doyle When Typhoon Haiyan smashed into this city in the central Philippines almost three years ago, Arsenio was one of the lucky ones – he survived by swimming a kilometre to safety. “Every...
Amid a bloody drug war, hopes for peace in the Philippines
By Simone Orendain In just over a month in power, the tough-talking new president of the Philippines has started one war and made moves to end two others. Rodrigo Duterte rode to victory on campaign...
Vaccine rolled out in Philippines offers new hope against dengue
Over a two-year period, Annie Bojas-Imperio’s entire family was stricken by dengue, a debilitating and sometimes deadly mosquito-borne virus. “Mommy, daddy and my two sons. It’s like dengue mosquitos...
The Philippines: Militancy rising in Mindanao as peace talks stall
Jared Ferrie The island of Mindanao in the southern Philippines is rich in resources as well as population diversity. It is also home to a violent patchwork of sometimes-overlapping armed groups...
Are indigenous Filipinos being murdered for anti-mine activism?
By Lennart Hofman How paramilitaries rule by fear in Mindanao Kailo Bontulan sat in front of a cluster of thatched bamboo huts next to a humble Protestant church in Davao, a city on the southern...
El Niño hits Philippines farmers with drought, rats
Drought is expected to spread across 85 percent of the country by April By Dennis Jay Santos Abogantao Saiduna looked across his parched field. Littered by the brittle remains of his corn crop, it...
Is the Philippine army turning a blind eye to murder?
By Jason Gutierrez MANILA, 29 September 2015 (IRIN) - Has the Philippine army been in cahoots with armed groups accused of murdering civilians in the southern region of Mindanao? That’s the focus of...
Ferry sinking highlights safety gaps in storm-battered Philippines
MANILIA, 3 July 2015 (IRIN) - This week’s sinking of a ferry in the Philippines, at a cost of at least 40 lives, has given added urgency to calls for a probe of the maritime sector in an archipelago...
After regional quakes, Philippines prepares for the big one
MANILA, 10 June 2015 (IRIN) - Recent quakes in Nepal and Malaysia have shaken the Philippines into action, with authorities scaling up earthquake preparedness drills and safety inspections of public...
Is the Philippines about to miss its chance at peace?
MANILA, 4 June 2015 (IRIN) - With a bill aimed at ending a decades-long Muslim separatist insurgency in the southern Philippines floundering in congress, observers warn that failure to pass the...
Philippines strives to end recruitment of child soldiers
MANILA, 20 May 2015 (IRIN) - The publicity surrounding an 11-year-old communist rebel reported to have surrendered to the Philippines military this month has served as a harsh reminder of the work...
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Bringing drones down to earth
By Caterina Pino and Obinna Anyadike KATHMANDU, 12 May 2015 (IRIN) - Disaster coverage now seems incomplete without amazing drone footage of the damage, accompanied by effusive media reports on the...
Noul hits, but Philippines learns the lessons of Haiyan
MANILA , 11 May 2015 (IRIN) - Powerful Typhoon Noul swept through the far northern Philippines on Monday, killing two people, but officials and aid agencies said a greater impact had been averted...