UN experts: Philippines misused terror laws to target 27 humanitarian workers
MANILA, Philippines — Five United Nations experts have condemned the Philippine government for weaponizing anti-terrorism laws against humanitarian workers, slamming the charges against 27 development workers as a "deliberate misapplication" of security legislation to silence civil society.
In a strongly-worded communication made public on November 15, the UN mandate-holders challenged the legal basis for the cases against current and former members of the Community Empowerment Resource Network (CERNET), a Cebu-based organization serving marginalized communities in Visayas.
The humanitarian workers were slapped with terrorism financing charges in May 2023. Authorities accused them of providing P135,000 to the New People's Army in 2012. The charges initially included three deceased persons among the accused.
The UN experts warned that the case exemplifies how counter-terrorism laws are being misused to harass rights defenders and paralyze legitimate humanitarian work.
They expressed particular alarm over the practice of "red-tagging" the accused, saying it normalizes violence against activists and creates an environment where extrajudicial killings can occur with impunity.
The communication was sent to the Philippine government on August 29. The government only acknowledged receipt of the communication through its Geneva mission but provided no actual reply within the standard 60-day period before publication.
The communication was signed by Mary Lawlor, Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders; Gina Romero, Special Rapporteur on freedom of peaceful assembly and association; Ben Saul, Special Rapporteur on counter-terrorism and human rights; Reem Alsalem, Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls; and Laura Nyirinkindi, chair of the Working Group on discrimination against women and girls.
Deliberate misapplication of laws
"These actions seem to demonstrate a deliberate misapplication of counter-terrorism legislation, including CFT law, for the purpose of discrediting legitimate human rights and humanitarian activities," the experts said, referring to the Philippines' counter-terrorism financing law.
"The targeting of these human rights defenders and humanitarian workers through intimidation, reputational harm and criminalization is of particular concern, as it appears to be in direct retaliation for their legitimate and peaceful activities promoting economic, social and cultural rights in the Philippines," they added.
The practice of red-tagging — labeling individuals or groups as communists or terrorists without evidence — was first institutionalized during the dictatorship of the president's father, Ferdinand Marcos Sr., to arrest dissidents.
Red-tagging of activists and human rights defenders surged under former President Rodrigo Duterte, who expanded the practice through the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has repeatedly refused to disband the NTF-ELCAC, dismissing the wealth of evidence that shows it has repeatedly tagged legitimate rights defenders as terrorists.
Broad definition of terrorism
The UN experts reiterated their concern about the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020's broad definition of "terrorism," the expansion of executive branch authority and the absence of judicial oversight.
"We recall that States are urged to ensure that measures to combat terrorism and preserve national security are in compliance with their obligations under international law," they said, adding that these should also not prevent rights defenders from carrying out their work.
They stressed that counter-terrorism measures – which include the freezing of assets of the accused – must comply with due process and procedural rights, including the right to a fair trial and effective protection by the courts.
"We further express our concerns about the potential consequences of asset freezing measures, vital humanitarian and human right services," they said, adding that this could lead to detrimental effects on marginalized groups and vulnerable sectors of society.
'Bogus' charges
Women human rights defenders have been particularly targeted in the CERNET case.
For instance, UN experts highlighted how authorities singled out and spread false information against Estrella F. Catarata, who was a board officer of CERNET until 2013.
In May 2024, the Cebu City Police Office posted Catarata's photo on Facebook, falsely labeling her as the "Top 1 Most Wanted Person in the Central Visayas" and a terrorist group leader.
In doing so, the police had "[defamed] her, putting her and potentially other colleagues at additional risk," the UN experts said.
The UN experts added that the act falls under the worrying practice of targeting women with online and technology-facilitated violence.
"It is concerning when law enforcement reportedly directly participates in subjugating women human rights defenders to such violence," they said.
Human rights group Karapatan has welcomed the UN experts' intervention and tagged the government's charges against the development workers as "bogus."
The experts gave the government 60 days to explain the factual and legal basis for the charges and outline steps taken to ensure rights defenders can work safely. They also demanded information about measures to investigate the police's spread of false information about Catarata.
CERNET has faced escalating harassment since 2006, including intimidation, abductions, and extrajudicial killings allegedly perpetrated by state security forces.
The network, established in 2001, consists of nine humanitarian organizations working to support marginalized communities through grassroots initiatives across the Visayas region.
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