The Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR) condemns the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Marcos Jr government for filing a trumped-up terrorism financing case against Mike Cabangon, a long-time labor leader in the Cordillera region. Filing the case is an act of harassment as the case is baseless and must be junked immediately.

On February 15, Mike Cabangon, spokesperson of national labor center Kilusang Mayo Uno’s (KMU) Cordillera regional chapter, received a complaint filed by the PNP’s Crime Investigation Detection Group – Regional Force Unit 14 (PNP-CIDG-RFU14) for two counts of violations of the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act of 2012 (Republic Act No. 10168).

Cabangon is the 12^th activist and NGO leader in the Cordillera who was named in six separate terrorism financing cases that have been filed recently. Under the Marcos Jr presidency, an increasing number of terrorism financing cases have been lodged against numerous activist and NGO leaders across the country.

These terrorism financing charges are being pressed against labor and NGO leaders whom the government accuses of having ties with the New People’s Army (NPA) and the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), which the government has designated as terrorist organizations.

The lodging of these charges demonizes said leaders and exposes them to various kinds of attacks. It causes the freezing of their bank accounts and the bank accounts of their relatives. It embroils them in often lengthy court processes and may require them to post huge amounts of bails. It presents hindrances to their work, and therefore adversely affects the sectors and communities that they serve.

The filing of these terrorism financing cases violates the right of those charged to the freedom of expression and association. It can lead to violations of the right to life, liberty and security of person. It is an attack on the various rights of the sectors and communities that activist and NGO leaders serve. In the case of Cabangon, it is an attack on the right to decent work of the workers and people of the Cordillera. In silencing dissent, it is an attack on democracy, which should be able to handle the existence of different perspectives and their conflict.

In a sense, pressing these terrorism financing charges is worse than redtagging. It is redtagging plus immediate violations of human rights. We hope that the country’s courts, which have recently ruled on the evils of red-tagging, will immediately rule against the wanton filing of terrorism financing charges against activist and NGO leaders. We continue to call on the Marcos Jr government to stop weaponizing terrorism laws against activist and NGO leaders and dissent in general.