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Papers by Ruby Rosselle Tugade

Ateneo Law Journal, 2021

The presidency of Rodrigo Roa Duterte brought about challenges to the Philippines’ democratic ord... more The presidency of Rodrigo Roa Duterte brought about challenges to the Philippines’ democratic order and the practice of human rights. A good number of scholarly accounts point towards Duterte’s “populist” rhetoric as the upending of traditional democratic values, which includes the flagrant disregard for the rule of law. This paper examines the Duterte regime from a critical view of the conception of the rule of law and the liberal democratic principles ushered in by the post-dictatorship order. While the apparent atrophy of democratic values under the Duterte regime may be simply attributed to mere dismissiveness, this paper looks at how Duterte himself renegotiated the conception of the rule of law through a divergent articulation of its attendant values. Without simply resorting to the call for restoration, this paper is an invitation for a reexamination of the rule of law and its associated institutions and norms to aid in the understanding of the political and legal outcomes in the time of Duterte and beyond.

Philippine Law Journal, 2022

Red-tagging by state forces is a strategy employed in the context of the longstanding conflict be... more Red-tagging by state forces is a strategy employed in the context of the longstanding conflict between the Philippine government and the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (CPP- NPA). As a result, left-leaning and dissenting individuals and groups-who take no active part in hostilities-become targets of attacks and acts ofviolence. This Article examines how the conflict between the Philippine government and the CPP-NPA may be classified as a Common Article 3 non-international armed conflict ("NIAC") where international humanitarian law ("IHL") finds application. By making the finding that Common Article 3 may apply in this context, the Article theorizes that red-tagging violates the principle of distinction in IHL through the targeting of civilians and the deliberate blurring of lines between combatants and civilians performing no combat functions. Finally, it proposes a turn to human rights law, civil remedies, and protective writs as a remedy for civilians being targeted through red-tagging.

UST Law Review, 2021

Peer-to-peer sexual harassment is a relatively new species of genderbased sexual harassment under... more Peer-to-peer sexual harassment is a relatively new species of genderbased sexual harassment under Philippine law. Through the inclusion of punishable conduct of such nature in the Safe Spaces Act of 2019, Congress has recognized the need to update the definition of sexual harassment to cover acts committed between peers taking place in online and public spaces. Peer-to-peer sexual harassment still exists within asymmetrical and gendered power relations, albeit less overt in its manifestation. With a focus on peer-to-peer sexual harassment taking place in educational institutions, this Essay examines how the social policy behind the Safe Spaces Act is complicated by existing jurisprudence on due process rights, laws involving the privacy of the individual, and the rights of minors who may stand as accused. It anticipates the questions that may arise from the interaction between the policy considerations of the Safe Spaces Act and other rights and interests. Taking into account the cultural ethos which produced the necessity to update the law on sexual harassment, the Essay presents an interdisciplinary examination of anti-sexual harassment policy in academic institutions that considers broader legal and social implications.

Bedan Law Review, 2021

Respect for, protection, and fulfillment of human rights anchor the modern international legal sy... more Respect for, protection, and fulfillment of human rights anchor the modern international legal system that emerged in the latter half of the 20th century. More than their persuasive political and normative content, human rights contain obligations mainly legally binding upon States in their relations with those governed. They create legal relationships between duty-bearers of human rights obligations and rights-holders. The present system of international human rights law emerged out of the wreckage of global conflict and destruction, with sovereign States coming together in recognition of the need to respect human dignity. Generally embodied within the international human rights treaty regime, human rights as legal concepts embrace the primary duties of States to nurture the totality of the human condition. While civil and political rights are the main set of rights that come to mind in any discussion of legally enforceable rights, economic, social, and cultural rights (ESCR) are no less important or enforceable. These two main groups of rights are complementary and deeply entangled in terms of their normative aims and practical enforcement. With a global pandemic posing challenges to the elasticity of traditional legal concepts, there is a pressing need to examine how human rights can withstand the seeming need for increased State control. The right to health especially surfaces as a crucial species of rights in the context of the contemporary crisis brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. This brief essay first surveys the foundations of the right to health in international law. It then looks at how this right has been shaped and enforced in the domestic legal sphere. Finally, it will examine the prospects of enforcing the right to health within the context of the COVID-19 public health emergency in the Philippines.

Philippine Law Journal, 2020

The democratic transition experienced by the Philippines more than thirty years ago ushered in a ... more The democratic transition experienced by the Philippines more than thirty years ago ushered in a constitutional order that guarantees non-recurrence of its authoritarian past. The 1987 Philippine Constitution paved the way for the creation of an independent Commission on Human Rights. State legislation also created transitional justice mechanisms such as the Presidential Commission on Good Government for the recovery of ill-gotten wealth and, more recently, the Human Rights Victims' Claims Board for the distribution of reparations. This paper examines the impact of these transitional justice mechanisms addressing Marcos-era violations in the Philippines. With the ongoing negation and negotiation of the Marcos-era narrative in Philippine society, this paper seeks to assess the net effect of deploying transitional justice as a framework in shaping law and policy within the context of the Philippines after redemocratization.

Global response to Covid19 - a comparative law and economics project, 2020

Southeast Asia, Infected and Interrupted: Elevating Critical Voices on the State of Human Rights and Peace in the Time of COVID-19, 2021

This essay discusses the prospects of using justice-oriented approaches to documenting human righ... more This essay discusses the prospects of using justice-oriented approaches to documenting human rights violations in the Philippines within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

University of Asia & the Pacific Law Journal, 2019

The anti-illegal drug campaign of the Philippine government under President Rodrigo Duterte has e... more The anti-illegal drug campaign of the Philippine government under President Rodrigo Duterte has exacted heavy social costs in the Philippines. It has also placed the institutions for accountability and democratic rule of law at a precarious situation. With the collective moral ethos of Philippine society heavily strained by the consequences of the anti-illegal drug campaign, the conceptually parallel ideas forwarded by Catholic social teaching on the one hand and human rights law on the other can potentially provide an oasis for making sense out of the so-called war on drugs. This paper presents the prospects of the intersection between the teachings of the Catholic Church—an institution held in high regard in Philippine society—and the different ideas underpinning human rights law as a potent counterpart to the war on drugs.

Philippine Law Journal, 2017

The insane have limited capacity to act or are unfit to be subject of legal relations to some ext... more The insane have limited capacity to act or are unfit to be subject of legal relations to some extent. Philippine courts require complete deprivation of intelligence and reason for one to be declared insane. Recent scholarly works on the subject and developments in international law and in other jurisdictions, however, do not support this definition. Philippine law on insanity needs to be reformed in order to recognize that mental impairment occurs in a spectrum, especially since it affects rights and obligations found in criminal law, succession and workmen’s compensation. There must be a policy that aims to eliminate the stigma that comes with mental illness. The assessment of a person’s mental state in court proceedings must be made in a multidisciplinary manner. The parens patriae approach and the remedy of involuntary treatment need to be reconsidered in light of the more empowering rights-based approach.

Books by Ruby Rosselle Tugade

This is the third of the “Essential Truths” series about the legacy of Martial Law in the Philipp... more This is the third of the “Essential Truths” series about the legacy of Martial Law in the Philippines. First, we examine human rights in the Philippines and its state before the declaration of martial law. Prior to Martial Law, a robust human rights and social justice system had already been in place—embedded in the 1935 Constitution, various pronouncements by the Supreme Court, and by virtue of the Philippine State’s assent to international human rights obligations. The subsequent declaration of martial law rolled back protections for human rights through the exercise of unbridled presidential power. We then look at the historical record—found in judicial decisions, domestic reparations processes, and civil society documentation—of the human rights abuses resulting from Martial Law. This is a contribution to the current discussion on the state of human rights during the Martial Law period of 1972 to 1986. We aim to clarify the historical revisionist claims that there were no proven human rights abuses during the regime of Ferdinand E. Marcos.