MANILA — Human rights group Karapatan slammed President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s third year in office as “calamitous to people’s rights,” citing what it called a continuing pattern of state-led violence, shrinking civic space, and intensified use of anti-terror and counterinsurgency laws to silence dissent.

In a statement released hours before Marcos’ third State of the Nation Address (SONA), Karapatan said no amount of “glittering words” in his speech can cover up the administration’s alleged rights violations since 2022.

“As of June 2025, there have been 129 extrajudicial killings, 15 enforced disappearances, and 288 illegal or arbitrary arrests under his watch,” the group said, adding that these figures reflect what it calls the deepening impunity under Marcos.

Karapatan accused the government of continuing the “fascist policies” of former President Rodrigo Duterte, particularly through Executive Order No. 70 and the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC). The group documented at least 571 cases of forced or fake surrenders and more than 10 million cases of red-tagging, harassment, and intimidation over the past three years.

“These repressive measures have gravely curtailed the people’s exercise of freedom of expression and freedom of association,” the group said.

Karapatan also cited violations of international humanitarian law in the military’s counter-insurgency operations, including thousands of cases of indiscriminate bombings, forced evacuations, and alleged killings of civilians misrepresented as rebels.

The group criticized Marcos for “weaponizing” the Anti-Terrorism Act and the Terrorist Financing Prevention and Suppression Act, claiming that 227 individuals have been designated as terrorists or charged with terror-related offenses, with 20 still detained and three forcibly disappeared.

“Seventeen development and church-based groups have had their bank accounts frozen, halting services in poor communities,” Karapatan said.

On the economic front, the group slammed Marcos for failing to push for a national living wage and for what it described as a “grotesquely unequal” trade arrangement with the United States, including the imposition of a 19% tariff on Philippine exports.

Karapatan also criticized the administration’s anti-drug campaign, which it claimed has killed more than 1,000 individuals, and denounced the collapse of the impeachment trial against Vice President Sara Duterte.

“Marcos Jr. was acutely aware that punishing Sara Duterte’s misuse of public funds would ultimately backfire on every other corrupt politician, including himself,” the group said.

As the President delivers his SONA, Karapatan said Filipinos will march “to denounce Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his disastrous policies” and demand the abolition of the NTF-ELCAC, an end to red-tagging, and measures to address the country’s economic crisis.