The fabricated cases filed against human rights activist Hailey Pecayo under RA 11479 and RA 9851 were dismissed.
Recalling the events on January 26, 2023, human rights group Karapatan – Southern Tagalog received a subpoena from Antipolo City, implicating Ken Rementilla (Anakbayan Southern Tagalog coordinator), Jasmin Rubia (Mothers and Children for the Protection of Human Rights Secretary-General), and Hailey Pecayo in these trumped up cases. The charges, filed by Sgt. Jean Claude E. Bajaro of the 59th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army, alleged a violation of Section 12 of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), accusing them of providing material support to terrorist groups.
The decision of the City Prosecutor’s Office to dismiss these cases over lack of evidence only proves that the Anti-Terror Act and the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict’s red-tagging spree are nothing but bogus schemes meant to intimidate and silence critics and progressive groups. We enjoin all human rights advocates and democracy-loving groups to continuously call for the junking of similar charges against other victims of trumped-up cases. We further amplify our call to repeal the draconian and tyrannical Anti-Terror Act.
