The National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) vehemently condemns the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) weaponization of terror laws to unjustly target activists and civil society organizations (CSOs) in a desperate bid to satisfy requirements of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) for the Philippines’ removal from its Grey List. This reprehensible strategy is a flagrant violation of rights and freedoms.
In a disturbing pattern, the DOJ has been filing baseless terrorism financing charges against individuals and organizations without credible evidence. This is a brazen attempt to inflate prosecution statistics to meet arbitrary quotas—in time for the reported ongoing verification by the FATF of the Philippine government’s progress in complying with FATF standards.
The cases of activists Fritz Jay Labiano and Adrian Paul Tagle exemplify this abuse. Both were charged under the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act of 2012 for providing a nominal amount of money to detained environmental and indigenous rights advocates, one of whom was at the time facing trumped-up terrorism charges (of which she would later be acquitted). These financing terrorism charges were rightfully dismissed by the Regional Trial Court of Batangas City due to lack of probable cause, highlighting the frivolous nature of the accusations.
Reports have also surfaced of state agents employing intimidation tactics against witnesses of targeted individuals. In one recent case, a witness for the staff of the Paghidaet sa Kauswagan Development Group (PDG)—an NGO working with people’s organizations and poor farmers in Negros—was threatened by personnel from the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) to recant his sworn statement. The witness was warned that failure to comply would result in him being charged as well. Such actions not only corrupt the pursuit of justice but also instill fear within communities.
The NUPL demands an immediate cessation of these oppressive practices. We call on the DOJ and related agencies to end the initiation of baseless terrorism financing cases and to stop all forms of threats, harassment, or intimidation against victims of trumped-up charges and their witnesses. Given its crucial role in the criminal justice system, the DOJ must uphold the integrity of judicial process by refraining from using courts to advance their political agendas under the guise of counter-terrorism. #
#JunkTerorLaws
Reference:
Atty. Josalee S. Deinla
NUPL Secretary General
+639174316396
