Last August 30, 2025, the Defend NGOs Alliance Eastern Visayas held a roundtable discussion (RTD) with media organizations and NGOs on shrinking civic spaces. The RTD highlighted the current struggles of humanitarian advocates and NGOs in the region with the misuse and abuse of financing terrorism laws against NGOs. The participating media organizations also shared their experiences of surveillance and red-tagging, finding commonality with the experiences of NGOs. The group united in discussing how to raise awareness of the current state of civic space in the Philippines.
