The full list can be viewed on the HRW website here.  The list contains many human rights advocates who have traveled to the Philippines to document the ongoing extrajudicial violence targeting labor activists and others. 

The blacklist first surfaced in December of 2006 when ILRF staff attorney Brian Campbell was refused entry into the Philippines because of his inclusion on the list.  Many of the individuals on the list, like Campbell, had previously visited the Philippines to document human rights violations committed by the Philippines armed forces, especially targeting trade union activists. In early 2007, Philippine government officials assured the U.S. State Department that the blacklist was no longer in use. However, according to official government documents, the blacklist was reinstated on July 25, 2007, the day that the Philippine Human Security Act, its version of the Patriot Act, was implemented.

The International Trade Union Confederation wrote in their 2007 Annual Survey of Trade Union Rights Violations that in 2006, “At least 22 unionists were killed in an orgy of extrajudicial violence” and that “the prevailing atmosphere of impunity further undermined any meaningful enforcement of the labor law” in the Philippines.

This latest episode just show us how important it is for international allies to be calling attention to the ongoing human rights abuses occurring in the Philippines.  ILRF is continuing to support our partner organizations and working to shift the US government's support for the Arroyo regime in the Philippines without any dedicated funding for this work.  ILRF needs your support now more than ever!  We have a fundraising goal of $3,000 by October 8th and we are over halfway there.  If you donate online now, one of our funders will match all contributions up to $3,000.