Quezon activists Fritz Labiano and Paul Tagle were cleared of terrorism financing charges filed by the 85th Infantry Battalion (IB) in Batangas Trial Court Branch 7 on June 5.
The court, citing lack of evidence, dismissed the case filed by the 85th IB last April accusing the activists of violating the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act of 2012.
Labiano is a coordinator of Kabataan Partylist Quezon, while Tagle is the spokesperson of Tanggol Quezon. Both also work as paralegals for political prisoners, such as former Gabriela Youth Chairperson Alex Pacalda, Rowena Dasig, and Miguela Peniero.
But Labiano and Tagle’s volunteerism was quickly met with punishment. Their paralegal work for Dasig and Peniero in particular got them into hot water with the 85th IB, when during a consultation visit, the 85th IB accused them of handing out a P500 bill and some food to Dasig and Peniero. This led to made-up charges lodged against Labiano and Tagle last April.
The 85th IB had already illegally arrested Dasig and Peniero last year while they were investigating a construction power plant in Atimonan, Quezon, which would have affected copra farmers and fisherfolk in the area.
Labiano and Tagle did not have a chance to defend themselves in court because they never received a subpoena during the case’s investigation.
“Sa dalawang buwan na pagharap sa aming kaso, napakalaking panahon ang ninakaw nito sa akin. Dahil sa matinding banta sa seguridad, nilimitahan nito ang aking gawain na tumulong sa mga kabataang estudyante upang ipagtanggol ang kanilang kalayaang pang-akademiko,” said Labiano in his Facebook post.
While this case dismissal is a win for human rights defenders in Quezon, the job is far from finished. Charging activists with trumped-up charges following President Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos Jr’s counterinsurgency program has been prevalent based on Karapatan’s 2023 year-end report.
Other human rights workers are still facing several trumped-up charges. Fellow Quezon activists Yulesita Ibanez and Leizel Merchales, for instance, received terrorism financing charges after conducting relief operations in Southern Quezon in 2020.
Rural peasants are also not spared from these fabricated cases. Despite barely having enough money from farming to provide for her only child, Leshiel Mendoza also received terrorism financing charges together with Ibanez and Merchales.
Implanting firearms is another tactic to paint peasants and organizers as criminals. Alvin Borromeo, Coco Levy Funds Ibalik sa Amin Quezon provincial leader, was arrested last May 29, 2021 using such tactic. The same goes for Erlindo Baez, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan Batangas spokesperson, and Wilfredo Capareño, Anakpawis Batangas coordinator. Both have been jailed since October 2021.
Tagle also recounted in an interview how Borromeo, Baez, Capareño, and other political prisoners detained in Quezon District Jail are currently being prejudiced against, due to them being tagged as part of a “communist terrorist group.” This includes limited family calls, lack of access to water, and deprivation of proper food.
The recent onslaught of Typhoon Aghon in Quezon also affected the political prisoners in Quezon District Jail, with their properties, including hygiene items and clothes, being washed away.
But the current plights plaguing political prisoners go beyond the jails in Quezon. Karapatan accounts that there are currently 799 political prisoners that languish in jails nationwide, with 10 of them from and detained in Quezon.
“This only attests to the deceitful measures desperately used by the military forces to hamper and vilify the integrity of human rights work. Rotten at its core, these accusations will remain as accusations and justice shall reveal the true perpetrators of such acts of terrorism,” youth group Kabataan Partylist Southern Tagalog said in a statement. ●
First published in the June 19, 2024 print edition of the Collegian
