The Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR) celebrates the acquittal and release from prison of another labor organizer who was victimized by trumped-up charges and the government’s weaponization of the justice system against dissent. This legal victory highlights the need to free political prisoners from the labor movement and all political prisoners in the country.

On August 14, the Taguig Regional Trial Court Branch 266 acquitted Renante Gamara, labor organizer and consultant of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) in peace negotiations with the government, together with three others on fabricated charges of kidnapping with murder and frustrated murder.

The three are Tirso Alcantara, another NDFP consultant whose whereabouts is unknown, peasant organizer Dionisio Almonte, and construction workers Diony Borre and Raul Razo. Almonte, Borra and Razo were arrested in 2014, while Gamara was arrested in March 2019.

The fabricated charges stemmed from an ambush carried out by rebel group New People’s Army or NPA in May 2007. Gamara was arrested in May 2012 due to the arrest warrant that stemmed from the case, even as his name was added to the warrant only 11 days before he was arrested. He was released on bail in 2016 to attend the government’s peace talks with the NDFP.

Gamara’s acquittal highlights the government’s weaponization of the judicial system to silence dissent. The government manufactures trumped-up charges and uses these to arrest and imprison labor organizers and social activists. The government’s objective is to silence dissent and hinder people’s political participation – elements that are crucial to a democracy.

The filing of trumped-up charges, arrest and imprisonment of Gamara is similar to what happened to many political prisoners. Gamara’s release from prison brings the number of political prisoners from the labor movement down to 19. We are calling on the country’s courts to speed up the process of hearing the charges against the 19 political prisoners from the labor movement and all political prisoners.

We are calling the public’s attention to the trumped-up charges against Maoj Maga, a labor organizer of transport group Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Operators Nationwide or PISTON and labor center Kilusang Mayo Uno or KMU. Maoj is one of the first labor activists that were arrested under the Rodrigo Duterte presidency. Arrested on February 22, 2018, Maoj has already spent seven years in prison because of trumped-up charges.

The Ferdinand Marcos Jr government and the courts should further speed up the legal processes that will result in labor organizers and activists’ acquittal and release from prison. The country’s political prisoners have already suffered so much injustice; keeping them further in jail worsens this injustice.