Pattern of terrorism financing charges: Cordillera labor leader becomes latest target
By DOMINIC GUTOMAN
Bulatlat.com
MANILA – A labor leader is the 12th activist in the Cordillera region to be accused of financing terrorism.
The Philippine National Police – Criminal Investigation and Detection Group Regional Force Unit 14 filed the complaint of Terrorist Financing Prevention and Suppression Act (TFPSA) against Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) – Cordillera spokesperson Mike Cabangon. Cabangon, who is also a member of KMU’s National Council, received it on February 15.
In a statement in Filipino, KMU said that this is a “rotten tactic by the government to file this kind of fabricated case to make the assertion of labor rights and workers’ welfare look bad.”
KMU said Cabangon is among the labor leaders in Cordillera who exposed the grim reality of workers in the region: miners toil in the dark for meager wages, inhumane exhaustion of hotel and restaurant workers, and the job insecurity of transport and eco-tourism workers in the region.
“These are the workers that Kilusang Mayo Uno – Cordillera seeks to unite in the fight for a living wage, decent jobs, safe workplaces, and the right to unionize,” said KMU.
Other activists, including Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA) pioneer Sarah Abellon-Alikes, development workers Lenville Salvador, Myrna Zapanta, and Petronila Guzman, and storekeeper Marcylyn Pilala were accused of the same crimes.
“Mike is a known cultural worker and labor leader who dedicated much of his life organizing workers in Baguio City and miners employed by exploitative large-scale mining corporations in the Cordillera. He has consistently advocated for workers’ rights and welfare while also bringing his advocacy from the communities to performance stages in the streets,” said CPA in a statement.
“These terrorist financing complaints based on unfounded narratives from alleged former rebels indicate an alarming trend, much in line with the government’s effort to remove itself from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) greylist in order to supposedly address its problems in accessing foreign funds,” CPA added.
Read: Government’s counterinsurgency plan and terror financing law against rights defenders
The FATF, established in 1989, is an intergovernmental organization that collaborates with regional bodies and member nations to combat money laundering, terrorist financing, and other threats to global financial security.
In 2021, FATF placed the Philippines on its “grey list” for deficiencies in its money laundering and terrorism financing measures. To be removed from the “grey list,” Philippine authorities need to work on reforms to address the deficiencies in their policy. During its October 2024 plenary, the FATF acknowledged the Philippines’ progress and approved an on-site assessment, which took place from January 20 to 21 of this year.
However, the terrorist financing charges in the Philippines have been increasingly used to target human rights defenders, grassroots organizations, and even journalists. This January, terrorism financing complaints have also been filed against five activists in Cagayan Valley: former political prisoner Isabelo Adviento, peasant activist Cita Managuelod, human rights worker Jackie Valencia, Makabayan coordinator Agnes Mesina, and Pinoy Weekly’s photojournalist Deo Montesclaros.
“The Marcos Jr. regime has been accusing activists left and right of financing terrorism in its attempt to exit the FATF’s ‘grey list’ of governments deemed to have fallen short of FATF’s standards of combating money laundering and terrorism financing,” said Karapatan Secretary General Cristina Palabay.
She also added, “Those accused have had their assets frozen and subjected to civil forfeiture proceedings, thus derailing their projects meant to alleviate the sufferings of poor and marginalized communities.”
This heightened use of terrorism financing charges has also alarmed the international human rights groups. Amnesty International (AI) urged the government to drop terrorism-related charges against humanitarian, development and human rights workers, underscoring that the targeted organizations often carry the same profile — groups and individuals well known in their respective communities, involved in “decades of humanitarian work for which they are recognized by award-giving institutions or even tapped as partners in community projects led by local governments.”
Human Rights Watch also said that the FATF should not stay silent while the Philippine government is misusing terrorism financing recommendations to target civil society groups and activists.
The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) is urged to conduct an immediate investigation of this trend by CPA, and the previous victims of the terrorism financing charges. (AMU, RVO)
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