Sixteen Votes and a Sponsor: How a Collective Effort Advanced the Arms Trade Treaty Process in the Philippines

'On the afternoon of 26 January 2022, the Philippine Senate voted in favour of Resolution №960 - with 16 votes for, none against, and six abstentions. The vote saw the Senate give their formal concurrence (agreement) to the ratification of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), thereby marking the end of a years-long legislative process. Two months later, on 24 March 2022, the Philippines became the 111th state party to the ATT after depositing its ratification at the UN, and on 22 June 2022 the Treaty entered into force.

The process, however, had begun several years earlier. Back in September 2013, the Philippines became the first country in South-east Asia to sign the ATT and, by 2 June 2017, the proposed ratification had been transmitted to the Senate for deliberation. Although this early gesture suggested momentum, the years that followed saw little legislative movement. The Treaty remained signed but unratified, while conflicts in Mindanao dragged on and weapons continued to find their way into the hands of armed groups operating far outside any legal framework - with civilians paying the price in blood.

After five years of stagnation, how did ratification finally become possible in 2022?'

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