Statements
CPDG at 20
September 26, 2026The Council for People’s Development and Governance (CPDG) was formally established twenty years ago today, on 26 September 2006. Its first general assembly included grassroots-based civil society organizations (CSOs), both non-government organizations (NGOs) and people’s organizations (POs) alike, as well as scientists and research institutions advancing people’s rights and welfare, development effectiveness and genuine people’s […]
Martial Law and the Unbroken Chain of Deprivation
September 21, 2026Fifty-four years since Ferdinand Marcos Sr. declared martial law, the nation is governed once more by a Marcos who has proven that the family’s defining trait was never merely authoritarianism. It was impunity: the conviction that public office is private property, and that no institution will ever make them answer for what they take. The […]
CPDG Denounces NTF-ELCAC Disinformation and Calls for Abolition
September 1, 2026The Council for People’s Development and Governance (CPDG) strongly denounces the latest round of disinformation from the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) and the broader security establishment it represents. Manufactured “Partnerships”NTF-ELCAC recently circulated a post describing a briefing with a UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN […]
CPDG Denounces Arrest Warrants vs. Labor Leaders
August 15, 2026The Council for People’s Development and Governance (CPDG) strongly denounces the issuance of warrants of arrest by the Manila Metropolitan Trial Court Branch 28 against labor and grassroots organizers Jerome Adonis, chairperson of Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), Jacq Ruiz of Kilusan ng Kababaihan, and James Edward Anajao of Sandigan ng Manggagawa ng QC. Charging these […]
On the 77th IHL: Stop Normalizing War and Impunity
August 12, 2026On the commemoration of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) Day, civil society calls on Pres. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to institutionalize peace and democracy based on justice, and an end to the “normalization” of war and development aggression. Against the backdrop of continuing nationwide military operations that have disrupted—and continue to disrupt—the lives, livelihoods and violate fundamental […]
UP’s SDG Park: Leaving people behind
August 7, 2026Over the last months since August 2025, residents of Pook Aguinaldo, Pook Malantic, and Area 17 in Barangay UP Campus, reported experiencing harassment and intimidation from armed and unarmed University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman Blue Guards and police personnel accompanying vehicles attempting to deliver construction materials for the planned Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Park […]
CPDG calls out the arrest of anti-mining leader in Dupax del Norte
August 4, 2026CPDG calls out the arrest and detention of anti-mining leader Florentino Daynos II of the Dupax del Norte Environmental Defenders (DDNED). Daynos was arrested and detained at the Malasin Philippine National Police station in Dupax del Norte on charges of grave threats and coercion. According to one of his lawyers, no subpoena was issued before […]
CPDG Denounces Case Against Anti-Mining Lawyers in Nueva Vizcaya, Urges Anti-SLAPP Bill Passage
July 29, 2026The Council for People’s Development and Governance (CPDG) joins various organizations and individuals in condemning yet another cyber libel case filed by the North Luzon Mineral Resources Corp. (NLMRC). Lawyer Edgardo C. Balgos was slapped with a case days after the same mining company filed a legal complaint against Atty. Fidel Santos. Both public interest […]
CPDG Denounces Police Dispersal and Illegal Arrest During Rubio Visit
July 24, 2026The Council for People’s Development and Governance (CPDG) strongly denounce the police force’s brutal dispersal of peaceful protesters during the visit of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on July 22, which resulted in multiple injuries and the illegal arrest of a 22-year-old Center for Environmental Concerns (CEC) volunteer and media worker. We likewise denounce […]
Justice for Dr. Kent Carpenter: End the Culture of Impunity
July 13, 2026The Council for People’s Development and Governance (CPDG) denounces the killing of Dr. Kent Carpenter last June 12 at his residence in Sibulan, Negros Oriental. Dr. Carpenter is an internationally renowned American marine biologist and a research associate at Siliman University (SU) in Dumaguete City; he made the Philippines his home, dedicating decades to studying […]