• Context: Transfemicide is a word used by trans-led organizations to define the pattern of killings of trans women and transfeminine people rooted in transphobia, misogyny, hatred, and systemic violence often compounded by intersecting forms of discrimination and marginalization

• Human rights: Civil and political rights, economic, social, and cultural rights, gender justice

• Rights-holder: Trans women and transfeminine people

• Duty-bearer: Philippine government

MANILA – The Philippines has the most number of transgender women murder.

The Society of Trans Women of the Philippines (STRAP) raised this point at the launch of Project Kierra, a trans-led initiative that seeks to document the killings and campaign for justice.

The project was named after Kierra Apostol, an 18-year-old trans woman killed in June 2025.  

“When it is not documented, it is easily erased in public memory,” STRAP Executive Director Vashti Ortego said. “We hope to transform not only a word, I hope that it will enter the vocabulary of the institutions and revisit their laws and policies.”

Read: Recent killings of trans women prompt groups to push for LGBTQIA protection

According to Trans Murder Monitoring, the Philippines had 107 documented trans women killings since 2009. In contrast, Singapore and Cambodia had 1; Thailand, 27; Indonesia, 13; Myanmar, 5; and Malaysia, 16.

Doms Cordero, co-author of the book Transfemicide in the Philippines published this year, noted that the number may even be higher since the cases are underreported and even misreported. One challenge they identified is the domestic reporting mechanisms remain limiting: the Philippine National Police’s reporting forms remain binary– with only male and female as their markers.

“Some of them are deadnamed even in reports. These are not legal documents. We seek to honor the lived experiences of trans women. They’re already dead, and we are killing them again (by using their legal name),” Cordero said, adding that they have not yet documented transgender women who even used the anti-Violence Against Women and Children (VAWC) desk of the Philippine National Police because of the fear of being misgendered. 

Read: Brutal killing of trans woman in Caloocan prompts calls for investigation, passage of SOGIE bill

In 2025, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) flagged that the pattern of trans killings in the Philippines is already a transfemicide. From 2025 to present, there are 15 documented trans women killings.

On January 15, 2025, Ren Tampus, a 35-year old beauty salon owner, died in hospital after being shot by a gunman who invaded one of her salons. Six days later, trans woman Shalani Dolina suffered a brutal killing. Her severed leg was found stored in an ice cooler, while her body was wrapped in a mattress.

Trans woman revolutionary Dahlia Supelanas was killed by the Philippine military, together with six other people in a clash, on April 27, 2025. While trans rights activist Ali Macalintal was shot several times inside her massage and spa clinic on June 23, 2025, in General Santos City.

Kierra Apostol, an eighteen-year-old trans woman, was found dead in a river two days after she had gone missing, with her body showing signs of physical assault. STRAP said that the suspect behind her killing was already arrested in September 2025. 

Jerico Elliorate was killed by stabbing multiple times by a person she met at a party. Her killer then stole her wallet on August 14, 2025. A trans woman named Christine, who was also a 44-year-old therapist, was found dead inside a rented apartment in Valenzuela City, on September 22, 2025.

Another trans activist was killed at the hands of state forces. On April 19, 2026, Filipino American Kai Sorem was killed by the Philippine military, together with 8 civilians and 10 revolutionaries in a massacre in Toboso, Negros Occidental.

On June 20, 2026, 20-year-old trans woman Bella Lutap was found dead in an irrigation canal in Sitio Burnao, Zaragoza after being reported missing for three days. The Nueva Ecija police identified her ex-boyfriend as the primary suspect. He was arrested and charged with murder.

Teddy Federico, a trans woman, indigenous youth leader, and a barangay agricultural worker was found dead eight days after being reported missing, July 15, 2026. The investigation into her death is still ongoing. 

Betty Benito, a trans woman from Malaybalay City, Bukidnon, was reported dead in a dense forest on July 28, 2026. She was found by the police and community members. The primary suspect in her killing has been arrested.

Trans woman Jang Caes Macawili was shot multiple times at an internet cafe in Cebu City on August 10, 2026. This is the latest case of documented trans killing as of this writing.

Read: Trans killings prompt call for investigation, policy review

“Transphobia and transmisogyny have no place in a society, and trans and gender-diverse people deserve to live dignified lives without having to fear being murdered at any moment,” Asia Pacific Transgender Network (APTN) said in a statement.

The Philippines is obliged to uphold trans women’s rights under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). The Philippines is the first country in Southeast Asia to ratify the CEDAW of the United Nations on August 5, 1981, making the government accountable for violations on women’s rights. 

CEDAW’s general recommendations (GR) are also progressive. For example, GR 19 is the first international document to define gender-based violence. GR 28 also stresses intersectionality as the inherent trait of discrimination against women while GR 35 expands its scope to include transgender women.

“There is an observable lack of comprehensive policies and mechanisms which serve to protect and prevent transgender women from gender-based violence,” STRAP said. “The alarming rate of transfemicide cases reported in recent years reflects the urgency in enacting laws which specifically mention transgender women under their scope.”

The Makabayan bloc on August 13 filed House Resolution No. 1369 urging the House Committee on Women and Gender Equality to conduct an investigation and review of existing policies after the series of trans killings. They also urged the passage of the Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression, and Sexual Characteristics (SOGIESC) Equality Bill and the Comprehensive Anti-Discrimination Bill. (DAA)