Anti-abortion Catholic teachings on the ‘protection of life’ from conception onward are enshrined in the 1987 Constitution, influencing public health and reproductive justice policies, despite the Philippines’ status as a secular state. CBCP has strongly opposed women’s bodily rights and autonomy, including the right to divorce and access to contraceptive and abortion services.214 CBCP remained a vocal opponent of the Reproductive Health Law even after its passage in 2012 due to its provisions around access to contraceptives for family planning.215 Such pressure to undermine reproductive justice also comes from other actors. In 2023, for example, the Congress of the Philippines threatened to defund the national Human Rights Commission, and pressured it to weaken its support for abortion rights. During November 2023 budget deliberations, one senator Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada also proposed a ‘zero’ budget unless the Human Rights Commission opposed abortion.216 When speaking of political actors in the Philippines in the context of fascism and fundamentalism, it is crucial to examine the role of Duterte. Rodrigo Duterte’s ‘penal populism’, was rooted in penal policies and nationalist defiance. His approach, rooted in the idea of bringing people together as a means to combat crime, has resulted in widespread violence and countless deaths, all under the guise of “protection.” This was the essence of his populism: united people fighting ‘crime’. Duterte’s rule introduced a new strand of fascism characterized by criminalizing others and macho-fascism.217 IN 2021, THE GOVERNMENT ADMITTED TO OVER 6,000 KILLINGS DURING POLICE OPERATIONS, THOUGH ESTIMATES SUGGEST THE TRUE TOLL IS AT LEAST 7,742 CIVILIANS. Duterte’s authoritarian rule lasted from 2016 until 2022, when his administration started immediately with a brutal war on drugs, marked 214 Likhaan Centre for Women’s Health and ARROW. (2016). Understanding Catholic Fundamentalism in the Philippines: How conservative religious teachings on women, family and contraception are wielded to impede the Reproductive Health Law and other reproductive health policies. http://arrow.org.my/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/7.-Philippines_ with-extra-pages-added.pdf 215 Ibid. 216 Human Rights Watch. (2023). Philippines: Lawmakers Threaten Rights Body on Abortion. Human Rights Watch. https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/11/21/philippines-lawmakers-threaten-rights-body-abortion 217 European Center for Populism Studies. (2023). Mapping Global Populism Panel 2: Populism, Macho-Fascism, and Varieties of Illiberalism in the Philippines. https://www.populismstudies.org/mapping-global-populism-panel-2-populism-macho-fascism-and-varieties-of-illiberalism-in-the-philippines-3/ 60