Three human rights defenders in Southern Tagalog face fabricated charges under the Anti-Terrorism Law
On January 26, 2023, human rights group Karapatan – Southern Tagalog received a subpoena from Antipolo City against Ken Rementilla (Anakbayan Southern Tagalog coordinator), Jasmin Rubia (Mothers and Children for the Protection of Human Rights Secretary-General), and Hailey Pecayo. According to the charges filed by Sgt. Jean Claude E. Bajaro from the 59th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army, they have violated Section 12 of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) by allegedly providing material support to terrorist groups.
These charges stem from an incident last July 22, 2022, when the Mothers and Children for the Protection of Human Rights (MCHRP) led a fact-finding mission on the death of 9 year-old Kyllene Casao who was brutally murdered by the 59th IB. Casao was the first victim of Marcos Jr.’s extra-judicial killings in Southern Tagalog after members of the 59th IB’s blocking force indiscriminately fired at her and her companions. Afterwards, the military blamed the New People’s Army for the crime that they committed.
The human rights groups’ fact-finding mission was supposed to gather information about the incident as well as extend support for Casao’s family. However, despite the lack of evidence, they were accused of visiting the area to provide material support to the New People’s Army. In addition to the baseless accusations, members of the fact-finding mission also faced intimidation and harassment from the military upon arrival. Rubia and Rementilla, who were part of the mission, were unjustly labeled by the Philippine Army as terrorist supporters.
Meanwhile, while on the process of tackling the charges filed against the two, Pecayo also learned that she was charged with Attempted Murder, of which she was not informed prior. Later on, she will face three formal charges such as a) violation of ATA Sections 4a and 4d or intent to murder or harm an individual and possession of firearms and explosives, respectively, b) violation of RA 9851 which concerns the international humanitarian law in the Philippines, where she supposedly used firearms and explosives that endangered civilians, and c) attempted murder whose case files are yet to be retrieved. Pecayo has not yet received a subpoena from any of these charges.
These bogus charges against human rights defenders in Southern Tagalog are a signal fire for the Marcos Jr.’s more brazen attacks against critics through the use of Anti-Terrorism Act. The government weaponizes the law and facilitates state forces to quash humanitarian and fact-finding missions as subversive acts of sympathizing with the NPA. The constitutional right of individuals to be presumed innocent until proven otherwise is clearly neglected by the provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Act. They set precedence on how the military can effortlessly target, harass, and even kill human rights activists on the basis of mere suspicions.
The Asia Pacific Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines strongly condemns these tyrannical ploys of the Marcos Jr. administration against the people of Southern Tagalog. The use of the Anti-Terror Law is a deliberate maneuver to quell the discontent among the masses and create a chilling effect among human rights activists. The coalition urges the government to drop these false cases against the three individuals as they are without evidence and based only on the imbecile judgment of the military. The Armed Forces of the Philippines must be held accountable for their crimes against the people of Southern Tagalog as well as implementing the “all-out war” method of Marcos Jr. The coalition enjoins all human rights advocates worldwide to call for the junking of the Anti-Terrorism Act due to its unconstitutional provisions that work against the interests of the Filipino people.
