“This is a recognition of the continuing need to fight for human rights in this country in the middle of an exacerbating crisis.”
MANILA – The most red-tagged organization and individuals were recipients of the Amnesty International-Philippines’ Ignite Awards for Human Rights.
The awards recognized human rights defenders who face demoralization, harassment, disinformation, and deliberate attacks. Now in its fourth season, the winners were announced on Amnesty International Philippines 65th anniversary.
Human rights group Karapatan received the Most Outstanding Human Rights Defender in the organization category. Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Sarah Elago was named as the Most Outstanding Human Rights Defender in the individual category.
Indigenous peoples rights activist Kim Falyao received the Outstanding Young Human Rights Defender award. Cultural worker Brian Barrios received the Art That Matters Award for Visual Arts.
Ritz Lee Santos III, section director of Amnesty International Philippines, said that the awarding of human rights defenders is a response to the political situation where human rights defenders are vilified and deliberately attacked to silence and isolate them.
“It is our way of declaring that those who defend human rights are not enemies, they are not obstacles for development, they are among the bravest people in our society,” Santos said. “Let us also honor the countless communities behind them.”
For the people
Karapatan Secretary-General Cristina Palabay said, “This is a recognition of the continuing need to fight for human rights in this country in the middle of an exacerbating crisis.”
She stressed that this is not only for Karapatan “but all those who stand along the marginalized to uphold human rights and democracy and for everyone who believes that a just society is possible.”
Representatives of the human rights alliance Karapatan, which is recognized as the Most Outstanding Human Rights Defender in the organization category of Amnesty International’s Ignite Awards Season 4, pose for a group photo during the awarding ceremony on March 20, 2026. Photo by Dominic Gutoman/Bulatlat
During their visit at the Correctional Institute for Women (CIW) on May 29, she said that they dedicated the award to the 70 human rights workers killed due to their work. There were also human rights workers detained on trumped-up charges like Philip Abinguna, Glendhyl Malabanan, and Alex Pacalda; they form part of over 700 political prisoners in the country.
In a separate statement, Karapatan said that the names and pictures of their red-tagged human rights workers in Metro Manila, Bicol, Southern Tagalog, Central Luzon, Ilocos, Cordillera, Eastern Visayas, Central Visayas, Panay and Mindanao have been posted on social media and in public places. This vilification makes them potential targets of grave human rights violations.
They said that the recent weeks have been difficult with the recent massacre in Toboso, Negros Occidental and the continuing search for justice for over 30,000 killed from former President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs that still persists under the Marcos Jr. administration.
“The extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, torture, illegal arrests and detention, bombings and other human rights violations continue because the repressive counter-insurgency policies that engender them continue,” Karapatan said. “Duterte and Marcos Jr. may be political rivals but they are the same.”
The group documented thousands of human rights violations since its establishment in 1995. Under the current administration, they documented 135 victims of extrajudicial killings related to the government’s counterinsurgency, more than 800 arbitrary arrests, almost 600 forced surrender, and around 16 victims of enforced disappearance.
In her acceptance speech, Elago said that the award belongs to those who were martyred for their human rights work, political prisoners, community organizers, toiling workers, farmer leaders, women, LGBTQIA+, and children. “I learned that a voice alone can be fragile, but the voice raised alongside others becomes a thunderous chorus that cannot be silenced.”
Collective work
Many Indigenous Peoples rights groups also celebrated the award to Falyao, a young Igorot woman from Lias, Barlig, Mountain Province who dedicated her life to organizing, campaigning, and standing alongside Indigenous youth and communities.
Falyao is the newest national coordinator of Bai Indigenous Women’s Network. She served as the national coordinator of Siklab Philippines Indigenous Youth Network, committed to assert their right to education and advancing a just and dignified future for their fellow Indigenous Youth.
“Human rights work is a collective aspiration and struggle of a community– it is never an individual work. This is the reason why this award is not only for me, but to all Indigenous Youth that continue the struggle for our right to ancestral lands and self-determination,” Falyao told Bulatlat in Filipino.
Kim Falyao, national coordinator of the Bai Indigenous Women’s Network, receives her award as the Most Young Outstanding Human Rights Defender of Amnesty International’s Ignite Awards Season 4 during the awarding ceremony on March 20, 2026. Photo by Dominic Gutoman/Bulatlat
Kalipunan ng Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas (Katribu) said that they witnessed Falyao’s growth as an Indigenous youth in the city with their collective plight on migration, displacement, militarization, and the loss of their ancestral lands due to land-grabbing and destructive projects.
“Rather than allowing these experiences to diminish her spirit, she turned them into a source of strength, conviction, and commitment to serve the people,” Katribu noted. “This award is deeply meaningful because it affirms the vital role of Indigenous youth in the struggle for human rights.”
Regional organization Asia Young Indigenous Peoples Network (AYIPN) also congratulated her. “Her recognition reflects the strength of collective action and solidarity among Indigenous communities and youth movements in defending our lands, cultures, and future.”
Duty
Launched in 2017, Ignite Awards aims to recognize human rights defenders for their work in the Philippines. The theme of the current season is #BilangTibak under its Protect the Protest campaign, a global initiative to challenge the unprecedented worldwide crackdown on peaceful demonstrations.
“It is not only our responsibility to fight for human rights. It is also our duty to win this fight,” Santos said at the awarding ceremony. “Our responsibility is not only to bear witness to injustice, but to end it. Not only to call for accountability but to secure it. Not only to defend civic space, but to expand it. Not only to protect human rights defenders, but to build a society where defending human rights is no longer dangerous.” (AMU, DAA)
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