Republic of The Philippines

• State Department - Country Documents

• Austrailian Migration Review Tribunal - Refugee Review Tribunal
  • PHL34979 - July 2009 (PDF)
    1. What documents must be submitted to obtain a Filipino passport? What documents must be submitted to obtain a Filipino passport in your married name?
  • PHL34658 - May 2009 (PDF)
    1. Please advise what procedure and evidence is required for registering a birth in the Philippines, in a hospital or at home?
• Canada Responses to Information Requests (RIRs)
  • PHL105458.E - Philippines: Requirements and procedures for an Indian spouse of a Philippines national to obtain a temporary resident visa; rights of temporary resident visa holders, including travel abroad; requirements and procedures for re-acquiring temporary resident visa status after expiry while the holder is outside the country (2008-March 2016) - March 2016 (PDF)
  • PHL104271.E - The biometric passport, including its appearance and stored biometric data; requirements and procedures to obtain a biometric passport within the Philippines; whether it can be replaced and renewed from abroad, including requirements and procedures - April 2013 (PDF)
  • PHL101562.E - Documentation required and procedures to be followed by a parent wishing to travel abroad with a minor child in the absence, or without the consent, of the other parent - August 2006 (PDF)
  • PHL100065.E - Length of time a permanent resident can remain outside of the country before losing the right to return; whether it makes a difference if the person has an adult son living in the Philippines (May 2005) - May 2005 (PDF)
  • PHL42189.E - Philippines: Whether a woman who was born in the Philippines in 1952 and who btained Indonesian citizenship in 1983 following a marriage to an Indonesian citizen and an extended period of residence in Indonesia can recover her Filipino citizenship; whether she would automatically lose her Filipino citizienship because she acquired another; procedures and/or conditions for reacquiring Filipino citizenship - November 2003 (PDF)

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• State Department Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - Children - 2011 (PDF)
• US Department of Labor - Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor - 2015 (PDF), 2014 (PDF), 2013 (PDF), 2011 (PDF)

• Coalition to stop the use of Child Soldiers - Child Soldiers Global Report - 2008 (PDF)
• Human Rights Watch Report - “What … if Something Went Wrong?” Hazardous Child Labor in Small-Scale Gold Mining in the Philippines - Sept 2015 (PDF)

International Government Organization Reports

• European Asylum Support Office - Separation, adultery, children born out of wedlock - March 2020 (PDF)

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• State Department Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - Corruption and Lack of Transparency in Government - 2012 (PDF)

• Austrailian Migration Review Tribunal - Refugee Review Tribunal
  • PHL31974 - June 2007 (PDF)
    6. Is there any information to suggest corruption is selectively applied against particular people or groups?
    7. Do Filipinos suffer mistreatment if they speak out against corruption or refuse to participate in corrupt practices?
• Canada Responses to Information Requests (RIRs)
  • PHL101564.E - Reports of corruption and bribery within the police force; government response; frequency of convictions of members of the police force accused of criminal activity (2004 - 2006) - August 2006 (PDF)

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• State Department Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - Disabilities - 2011 (PDF)

• Austrailian Migration Review Tribunal - Refugee Review Tribunal
  • PHL31758 - May 2009 (PDF)
    2. Is there any information about discrimination due to disabilities in a family?

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• State Department Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - Elections - 2011 (PDF)

• Austrailian Migration Review Tribunal - Refugee Review Tribunal
  • PHL32284 - September 2007 (PDF)
    1. Please provide background to the Municipal elections in Tanauan, Batangas. How frequent, which parties were involved in May 2004, how do they differ, who was successful and who was declared the winner almost 2 years later?
    2. Is there evidence of violence in the town around the election time
    3. Is there evidence of political campaigners being harassed in municipal elections?

• Election Guide - Recent elections
• International Crisis Group
  • The Philippines - Pre-Election Tensions in Central Mindanao - May 2010 (PDF)

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• State Department Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - Indigenous People - 2011 (PDF)

• Minority Rights Group International - State of the World's Minorities and Indigenous Peoples - 2015 (PDF), 2014 (PDF)
• World Directory of Minorities - Indigenous Peoples (PDF)

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• Austrailian Migration Review Tribunal - Refugee Review Tribunal
  • PHL35332 - August 2009 (PDF)
    1. Do Kalingas and Isnegs intermarry as part of an ongoing peace pact between the 2 tribes? Do such peace pacts exist? Why and how are these peace pacts established? Can you locate information on peace pacts?
    2. Is there any information regarding any peace pacts negotiated between Kalinga and Isneg resulting in marriage between them?
    3. What are the marriage customs of tribes of the Northern Philippines?
  • PHL35138 - July 2009 (PDF)
    1. Can additional information be provided from other sources concerning the current relationships between the Kalinga and Isneg tribes? Or any reports of inter-tribal conflict anywhere?

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• World Directory of Minorities - Chinese (PDF)

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• State Department Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - Women - 2011 (PDF)

• Austrailian Migration Review Tribunal - Refugee Review Tribunal
  • PHL36715 - June 2010 (PDF)
    1. Please advise of the general situation in Philippines, in particular whether an elderly woman would be able to access assistance from police.
    3. Are there safe retirement homes or other services for older women in the Philippines, especially in Negros Occidental?
  • PHL36716 - June 2010 (PDF)
    1. Is there a police force in the Philippines? Please provide any other information on the current situation in the Philippines in relation to law and order, and protection for single women.
  • PHL35332 - August 2009 (PDF)
    6. Whilst earlier research response provided information on state protection for women, is there any information that family matters are resolved through tribal customs? What is the status of the Council of Elders in relation to common law? Is there evidence that one is preferred above the other?
  • PHL35138 - July 2009 (PDF)
    2. Please provide information on state protection available in the Cordillera Administrative Region, North Luzon, and in the Philippines generally.
• Canada Responses to Information Requests (RIRs)
  • PHL105832.E - Philippines: Information on adultery laws, including enforcement (2014-June 2017) - June 2017 (PDF)
  • PHL105738.E - Philippines: Treatment of unwed and single mothers and their children, including treatment of unwed and single mothers when their children are outside the country (2015-February 2017) - Feb. 2017 (PDF)
  • PHL103367.E - Domestic violence, including legislation, availability of state protection and support services for victims - April 2010 (PDF)
  • PHL102719.E - The protection offered to female victims of sexual abuse - March 2008 (PDF)
  • PHL101561.E - Philippines - State protection and recourse available to victims of domestic violence, including recent legislation, police response and community-based services (2004 - 2006) - October 2006 (PDF)
  • PHL42572.E - The protection offered to female victims of sexual abuse - June 2004 (PDF)

International Government Organization Reports

• European Asylum Support Office - Separation, adultery, children born out of wedlock - March 2020 (PDF)

Non-Government Organization Reports

• “Our Happy Family Is Gone” Impact of the “War on Drugs” on Children in the Philippines - May 2020 (PDF)

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• State Department Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2017 (PDF),2016 (PDF), 2015 (PDF), 2014 (PDF), 2013 (PDF), 2012 (PDF), 2011 (PDF)
• Congressional Research Service Report - The Philippines - Aug 2019 (PDF)

• Austrailian Migration Review Tribunal - Refugee Review Tribunal
  • PHL37513 - October 2010 (PDF)
    1. Please provide information about the Humanitarian Home of Charity Foundation and its demise, and change of name.
  • PHL36715 - June 2010 (PDF)
    2. Please provide general information on relocation?
  • PHL34979 - July 2009 (PDF)
    6. What is the unemployment rate in the Philippines? What is the unemployment rate in Mindanao?
  • PHL35138 - July 2009 (PDF)
    2. Please provide information on state protection available in the Cordillera Administrative Region, North Luzon, and in the Philippines generally.
  • PHL31974 - June 2007 (PDF)
    3. Are there any impediments to relocating from a rural area to Manila?
    5. Is their any information indicating that the majority of building projects in the Philippines are for the government, and jobs are given to friends of government officials?

• Amnesty International - 2016 (PDF), 2015 (PDF), 2014 (PDF), 2013 (PDF)
• Amnesty International
  • “My Job Is To Kill” Ongoing Human Rights Violations and Impunity in the Philippines – Sept. 2020 (PDF)
  • ‘They just kill’. Ongoing extrajudicial executions and other violations in the Philippines’ ‘war on drugs’ - July 2019 (PDF)
  • The State of Human Rights in the Philippines - 2011 (PDF)
  • Towards ensuring justice and ending political killings - 2006 (PDF)
• Freedom House
  • Freedom in the World - 2015 (PDF), 2014 (PDF), 2012 (PDF), 2010 (PDF)
• Human Rights Watch - 2015 (PDF), 2014 (PDF), 2013 (PDF), 2012 (PDF), 2011 (PDF), 2010 (PDF)
• Human Rights Watch Profiles
  • Human Rights Watch Submission to the Universal Periodic Review of the Philippines - September 2016 (PDF)
  • Killings, Disappearances, and Impunity in the Philippines - July 2011 (PDF)
  • The Ampatuans, State-Backed Militias, and Killings in the Southern Philippines - Nov 2010 (PDF)

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• State Department Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - Arbitrary Arrest or Detention - 2011 (PDF)

• Austrailian Migration Review Tribunal - Refugee Review Tribunal
  • PHL37513 - October 2010 (PDF)
    3. Please provide information about protection for whistle blowers in the Philippines.
    4. Please locate information regarding procedures, institutions, or authorities that would be responsible for investigating the corporate (Foundation) scam in the Philippines.
  • PHL31758 - May 2009 (PDF)
    1. Is there any general information about police and local official corruption in Bulacan?
  • PHL34102 - January 2009 (PDF)
    5. Please provide an update on state protection in the Philippines, including the level of police protection, and whether or not witnesses of violent crimes/political assassinations would be adequately protected
• Canada Responses to Information Requests (RIRs)
  • PHL102718.E - Crime, police effectiveness and state response, including witness protection (2005 - 2007) - March 2008 (PDF)
  • PHL103384.E - Description of a police blotter and how the information is recorded in the blotter, the way in which information in a blotter is produced, by whom, the language in which blotter information is recorded - March 2008 (PDF)
  • PHL101565.E - State protection available to persons who make an official complaint against the police (2003 - 2006) - October 2006 (PDF)
  • PHL101563.E - Government response to drug trafficking, and state protection available to police officers involved in the investigation of drug trafficking (2004 - 2006) - October 2006 (PDF)
  • PHL101564.E - Reports of corruption and bribery within the police force; government response; frequency of convictions of members of the police force accused of criminal activity (2004 - 2006) - August 2006 (PDF)
  • PHL41911.E - Information on the barangay and on its leaders, their level of authority and their decision-making powers (1990-2003) - September 2003 (PDF)
  • PHL41094.E - Whether it is common practice for a newly elected mayor to replace members of a city's police force with his/her own people - March 2003 (PDF)

Non-Government Organization Reports

Amnesty International

• ‘They just kill’. Ongoing extrajudicial executions and other violations in the Philippines’ ‘war on drugs’ - July 2019 (PDF)

Human Rights Watch Profiles

• Human Rights Watch Profiles
  • License to Kill - Philippine Police Killings in Duterte's "War on Drugs" - March 2017 (PDF)
  • You Can Die Any Time Death squad killings in Mindanao - April 2009 (PDF)
  • Scared Silent Impunity for Extrajudicial Killings in the Philippines - June 2007 (PDF)

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• Republic Act No. 9262 March 08, 2004 - AN ACT DEFINING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND THEIR CHILDREN, PROVIDING FOR PROTECTIVE MEASURES FOR VICTIMS, PRESCRIBINGPENALTIES THEREFORE, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES (PDF)
• Republic Act of 9344 - An act establishing a comprehensive juvenile justice and welfare (PDF)
• PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO.1083 - A DECREE TO ORDAIN AND PROMULGATE A CODE RECOGNIZING THE SYSTEM OF FILIPINO MUSLIM LAWS, CODIFYING MUSLIM PERSONAL LAWS, AND PROVIDING FOR ITS ADMINISTRATION AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. (PDF)

US Government Reports

• United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF)
  • Violating Rights – Enforcing the World’s Blasphemy Laws – Dec. 2020 (PDF)

Foreign Government Reports

• Canada Responses to Information Requests (RIRs)
  • PHL105832.E - Philippines: Information on adultery laws, including enforcement (2014-June 2017) - June 2017 (PDF)

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• University of Texas at Austin - Map Collection

• Austrailian Migration Review Tribunal - Refugee Review Tribunal
  • PHL32284 - September 2007 (PDF)
    4. Where is Tanauan located?

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• World Health Organization Page

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• CIA - Chiefs of State and Cabinet Members of Foreign Governments
• State Department Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - Elections and Political Parties - 2011 (PDF)
• Congressional Research Service - The Philippines – Aug. 2021 (PDF)

• Austrailian Migration Review Tribunal - Refugee Review Tribunal
  • PHL32251 - September 2007 (PDF)
    1. Please provide a brief overview of the political platform of the Bayan Muna party?
    2. Please provide information on whether Bayan Muna members have been targeted by the authorities or other groups. Are there reports of campaigners being targeted? Or is the mistreatment restricted to leaders and electoral candidates?
    3. Please provide information on whether the state has provided protection to Bayan Muna members. Have episodes of mistreatment been investigated and prosecuted?
  • PHL33460 - July 2008 (PDF)
    5. The Dimaporo family have a profile as Muslims and community leaders, particularly in Mindanao? Do reports suggest that the family?s profile places expectations on all family members?
    6. Are there public references to the Dimaporo's having a political, property or other profile in Manila?
    7. Is the Dimaporo family known to harm political opponents in areas outside Mindanao?
  • PHL33455 - June 2008 (PDF)
    1. Are members of Laban Ng Demokratiko Ng Filipino targeted for harm by agents of the state? Or are they denied protection from non-state harm by the authorities?
  • PHL32818 - January 2008 (PDF)
    1. Please provide background information on the "Genuine Opposition Party", including what level of government it operates at, when it was formed, it's main aims, and prominent people within the party.
    2. Please provide background information on the "Team Unity Party", including what level of government it operates at, when it was formed, it's main aims, and prominent people within the party.
  • PHL31913 - June 2007 (PDF)
    1. What is the history and current legal situation of the Akbayan political party, in Batangas and nationally?
    2. Do you have details of its office holders and contact addresses?
    3. Is there evidence of harassment of the party and its members/supporters by the armed forces, in Batangas and nationally, particularly in Manila?
    4. Would anyone suffering such harassment be able to gain state protection?
• Canada Responses to Information Requests (RIRs)
  • PHL41538.E - Information on the Bigkis Pinoy political party, and any reports of violence between it and the LAKAS-NUCD party, especially during the 2001 elections (2001-2003) - May 2003 (PDF)

• International Crisis Group
  • The Philippines: Back to the Table, Warily, in Mindanao - March 2011 (PDF)

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• State Department Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - Protection of Refugees - 2011 (PDF)

Non-Government Organization Reports

• Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre
  • Severity of internal displacement Report - Nov. 2021

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• State Department Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - Freedom of Religion - 2011 (PDF)
• State Department International Religious Freedom Report - 2015 (PDF), 2014 (PDF), 2013 (PDF), 2012 (PDF), 2011 (PDF)
• United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF)
  • Violating Rights – Enforcing the World’s Blasphemy Laws – Dec. 2020 (PDF

• Austrailian Migration Review Tribunal - Refugee Review Tribunal
  • PHL37513 - October 2010 (PDF)
    2. Please provide information about sexual abuse in Philippines Hospice organisations and describe church and government procedures for dealing with such complaints.
  • PHL34979 - July 2009 (PDF)
    2. Are Filipino nationals married by an Imam in a family house required to register their marriages? What documents must be submitted to register a marriage and obtain a marriage certificate?
    3. How does a person convert to Islam during a wedding ceremony? (Does the pouring of water on a person's head signify their conversion to Islam)
    4. What are the characteristics of a Muslim wedding ceremony?
    5. Are converts to Islam required to do any study before converting? What would a convert to Islam be expected to know about Islam? Would they be expected to know the 5 articles of faith?
    7. Please provide information on the current situation for Muslims in Mindanao, in particular their economic situation.

• World Directory of Minorities - Muslims (PDF)

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• State Department Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - Sexual Orientation - 2011 (PDF)

• Austrailian Migration Review Tribunal - Refugee Review Tribunal
  • PHL33460 - July 2008 (PDF)
    1. Please provide references to any recent, reliable overviews on the treatment of homosexual men in the Philippines, in particular Manila.
    2. Do any reports mention the situation for homosexual men in Lanao del Norte?
    3. Are there any reports or references to the treatment of homosexual Muslim men in the Philippines (Lanao del Norte or Manila, in particular)?
    4. Do any reports refer to Maranao attitudes to homosexuals?
    8. Do the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) recruit actively in and around Iligan City and/or Manila? Is there any information regarding their attitudes to homosexuals?

Non-Government Organization Reports

• Humun Rights Watch Profiles -
  • “Just Let Us Be” - Discrimination Against LGBT Students in the Philippines - June 2017 (PDF)
  • Fueling the Philippines’ HIV Epidemic Government Barriers to Condom Use by Men Who Have Sex With Men - Dec. 2016 (PDF)

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• RIC Report - HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN THE CONTEXT OF THE INTERNAL MILITARY CONFLICT - December 1992 (PDF)

• Austrailian Migration Review Tribunal - Refugee Review Tribunal
  • PHL36619 - May 2010 (PDF)
    3. Please give some brief background on the Davao Death Squad (DDS).
    4. Please provide information on the following: (a) the geographic scope of DDS operations (outside Davao del Norte?); (b) whether there are rumours/allegations that politicians who themselves rely on drug money use the DDS to kill political opponents.
  • PHL36485 - April 2010 (PDF)
    1. Please provide background on the NPA and whether they extort people.
    2. Can the police or other authorities provide protection?
    3. Would a person be able to move to other parts of the Philippines where NPA extortion is not a threat?
    4. Are there reports that the NPA and the Police act together, so that there is no one to lodge a complaint with?
  • PHL35333 - October 2009 (PDF)
    1. Can you please provide current information on the NPA?
    2. Are they still an active force in Paranaque?
    3. President Arroya announced a 2010 deadline for defeating the insurgency. What measures have been taken by the authorities?
  • PHL33455 - June 2008 (PDF)
    3. Please provide any evidence about the Dimaporo clan - especially their influence outside Mindanao, and whether they are reported to have been involved in attacks on political opponents in Lanao, del Norte, and in other parts of the country.
  • PHL31622 - June 2007 (PDF)
    2. Please provide an update on the peace negotiations in regard to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).
  • PHL31974 - April 2007 (PDF)
    1. Please advise if the New People's Army (NPA) demanded that people pay "revolutionary tax" or "tribute money" for goods like military shoes and uniforms. If so, what are the repercussions if people do not comply with the demands? Do the NPA target particular people or groups?
    2. Please advise if the NPA are operating in Manila.
• Canada Responses to Information Requests (RIRs)
  • PHL101566.E - Reports of extortion and kidnapping of civilians by the New People's Army (NPA) or other armed groups; state response to extortion and kidnapping; extent of recruitment efforts by the NPA (2003 - 2006) - October 2006 (PDF)

• Armed Conflict Report
  • Philippines - Mindanao - January 2009
  • Philippines - CPP/NPA - January 2009
• Amnesty International
  • "The Battle of Marawi" Death and Destruction in the Philippines - Dec 2017 (PDF)
  • Beyond the 2008-2009 Mindanao Armed Conflict - 2009 (PDF)
  • The Human Cost of Conflict in the Philippines - 2008 (PDF)
• International Crisis Group
  • Southern Philippines: Keeping Normalisation on Track in the Bangsamoro – April 2021 (PDF)
  • The Philippines: Renewing Prospects for Peace in Mindanao - July 2016 (PDF)
  • The Communist Insurgency in the Philippines - Feb 2011 (PDF)
  • The Philippines: After the Maguindanao Massacre - December 2009 (PDF)
  • Running in Place in Mindanao - February 2009 (PDF)
  • The Collapse of Peace in Mindanao - October 2008 (PDF)
• Human Rights Watch
  • "One Shot to the Head" - Death Squad Killings in Tagum City, Philippines - May 2014 (PDF)

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• Canada Responses to Information Requests (RIRs)
  • PHL40786.E - Illegal activities undertaken by the Hong Kong Triads and 14kts; whether there is state protection available to citizens who are approached to assist the triads in these activities, particularly bank fraud - January 2003 (PDF)

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• State Department Country Reports on Human Rights Practices
  • Freedom of Speech and Press - 2011 (PDF)

• Freedom House
  • Freedom on the Net - 2015 (PDF),  2014 (PDF), 2013 (PDF), 2012 (PDF)
  • Freedom of Press - 2015 (PDF), 2014 (PDF), 2013 (PDF), 2012 (PDF), 2011 (PDF)

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• BBC Timeline

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• State Department Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - Trafficking in Persons - 2011 (PDF)
• Trafficking in Persons Report - The Philippines - 2020 (PDF), 2019 (PDF), 2018 (PDF), 2017 (PDF), 2016 (PDF), 2015 (PDF), 2014 (PDF), 2013 (PDF), 2012 (PDF), 2011 (PDF), 2010 (PDF)

Intergovernmental Organization Reports

• United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime - Global Report on Trafficking in Persons - East Asia and the Pacific - 2016 (PDF)

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• State Department Country Reports on Terrorism - 2013 (PDF)
• Congressional Research Service (CRS)
  • The Islamic State – May 2021 (PDF)

• Austrailian Migration Review Tribunal - Refugee Review Tribunal
  • PHL36520 - April 2011 (PDF)
    1. Are there any incidents recorded of kidnappings by Abu Sayyaf or other groups?
  • PHL33460 - July 2008 (PDF)
    8. Do the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) recruit actively in and around Iligan City and/or Manila? Is there any information regarding their attitudes to homosexuals?
  • PHL33455 - June 2008 (PDF)
    2. Is there recent evidence that MILF are able or motivated to target opponents who have relocated away from Mindanao - ie their are of normal activity?
  • PHL31622 - June 2007 (PDF)
    1. Is there any information which would indicate that the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is conducting taxation operations in the area of Lanao del Norte?
    2. Please provide an update on the peace negotiations in regard to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).
• Canada Responses to Information Requests (RIRs)
  • PHL104015.E - The Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), including areas of operation and activities since 2009 - March 2012 (PDF)
  • PHL101105.E - Activities of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) (2004 - 2006) - February 2006 (PDF)

• International Crisis Group
  • Breakthrough in Mindanao - Dec 2012 (PDF)
  • Counter-Insurgency Vs. Counter-Terrorism in Mindanao - May 2008 (PDF)
  • Philippines Terrorism: The Role of Militant Islamic Converts - December 2005 (PDF)
  • Southern Philippines Backgrounder: Terrorism and the Peace Process - July 2004 (PDF)

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