Manila Today
On September 3, the same day labor activists Ed Cubelo and Rodrigo Esparago filed their appeal against Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) charges, the Malolos Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 12 swiftly dismissed the case against them, along with 26 others, citing a lack of probable cause.
In a two-page joint order, Judge Julie Mercurio of the Malolos RTC Branch 12 penned the decision resolving the case.
Cubelo and Esparago, along with 26 other activists, were alleged in an armed encounter between the New People’s Army (NPA) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in Laur, Nueva Ecija, on October 8 of last year.
However, the Malolos court found that the complainants, particularly the 84th Infantry Battalion, were unable to present concrete evidence linking the activists to the alleged armed encounter. The court also noted that the complainants relied on vague identifications from photos and documents in the Periodic Status Report (PSR) and failed to accurately identify the 34 accused as the activists involved in the incident.
According to Atty. Kristina Conti, secretary-general of the National Union of People’s Lawyers – National Capital Region (NUPL NCR), the said decision tells the public that it should not have been approved by the prosecutors or filed by the military in the first place.
Rights group Karapatan noted that the Department of Justice has been manipulating and weaponizing the law through filing trumped-up cases, especially under the ATA.
“NUPL-NCR is studying redress mechanisms and penalties for such malicious prosecution and other abuses, in the context of the recent Supreme Court implementing rules and the persistent question of the constitutionality of the ATA,” said Atty. Conti.
Bagong Alyansang Makabayan Secretary General Renato Reyes lauded the decision, calling it a major win amid the Marcos Jr. administration’s continued weaponization of the ATA against activists, four years since it was signed into law.
Republic Act (RA) 11479, or the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, commonly referred to as the ‘terror law,’ was enacted in July 2020 under the former Duterte administration. Its implementing rules and regulations (IRR) were drafted by the Department of Justice and approved by the Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC) on October 14, 2020.
As of July 20 this year, Karapatan documented at least 112 individuals facing complaints and charges under the ATA and the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act, dubbed the twin terror laws.
“This vicious modus is not only meant to derail the victims’ activism and suppress dissent. It further clogs our already burdened courts with frivolous cases,” said Karapatan Secretary General Cristina Palabay.
Palabay further demanded that the DOJ stop its judicial harassment of activists, calling on it to desist from its malicious practice of red-tagging, churning out ridiculous and unfounded accusations, and filing manufactured cases.
Karapatan NCR also lauded the decision while emphasizing their call for the abolition of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).
“We further demand the outright dismissal of the ATA and the abolition and defunding of the NTF-ELCAC, so that the people’s funds can be directed to social services, especially in light of the climate tragedies caused by recent typhoons and monsoon rains,” said Lorevie Caalaman of Karapatan NCR.
Caalaman also called on the Marcos Jr. administration to uphold the Supreme Court (SC) declaration on red-tagging.
On May 8 this year, the SC declared that red-tagging, vilification, labeling, and guilt by association threaten a person’s right to life, liberty, or security, which may justify the issuance of a writ of amparo.
“Rod and Ed were red-tagged like any other activists or individuals in championing basic human rights or merely expressing critical dissent. Red-tagging serves as a tool to instill fear and create a chilling effect right before the state initiates its lawfare through filing trumped-up charges like the ATA, which can eventually lead to abductions or killings,” Caalaman added.
As of June 30 this year, Karapatan reported 105 cases of extrajudicial killings and 75 cases of frustrated extrajudicial killings, with the majority of victims being civilians falsely portrayed as New People’s Army combatants killed during encounters under the Marcos Jr. administration. They also reported 12 cases of enforced disappearance, 42,426 victims of forced evacuations, 63,379 victims of indiscriminate firing, and up to 44,065 victims of aerial bombings and artillery strikes.
