Women’s leader tailed, harassed after flood control protest in Cebu
For Allere, the cause is personal. She once lived in an urban poor community in Lorega, Cebu City which got demolished.
By Maverick Avila
Bulatlat.com
CEBU CITY, Philippines – A women’s leader in Cebu and her family were subjected to surveillance and harassment by armed men following a protest against corruption in flood control projects. They wanted to convince her to cooperate in exchange for immunity and livelihood support for her family.
Belinda “Bebe” Allere, 59, is a women and urban poor community leader. Currently the deputy secretary general of Gabriela party list for Visayas, she also heads the Cebu Urban Poor Women’s League (CUPWOL).
She was among those served a subpoena after protesting outside the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Region VII office on September 5, accused of violating Batas Pambansa 880.
Allere was informed about it on October 3 through fellow community leader Jaime Paglinawan of BAYAN Central Visayas. Also named were John Ruiz of Bayan Muna, Howell Villacrusis, Victor Sumampong of Partido Lakas ng Masa Cebu, and Jian Rick Pelayo of Kabataan Partylist (KPL) Cebu Normal University chapter. In the subpoena, rotten tomatoes thrown allegedly caused damage to the DPWH office.
Allere was among those at the forefront of the protest, as the subpoena cited news clippings from SunStar Cebu showing protesters throwing rotten tomatoes. Her photos circulated online and were later used by progressive groups in campaigns denouncing corruption in flood control funds.
Before receiving the subpoena, Allere said that the armed forces appeared to have warned her. Firm in her advocacy, she said that there was no reason for her to abandon her cause. In an interview with Bulatlat, she recalled how she evaded the armed men tailing her from her brother’s house.
Series intimidation
Days after the September 5 protest saw a series of harassment and intimidation for Allere. The armed forces seemed to have varying tactics, Allere told Bulatlat.
In the afternoon of September 10, Allere’s neighbors told her that there were three non-uniformed individuals seen outside her house. “They were showing my photo from their phone asking my neighbors if they know me,” Allere said. Her neighbors knew her better as a member of Gabriela than her actual name.
They accused Allere of being involved in illegal electricity tapping and claimed that they were there to investigate. “But according to my neighbor, they never confirmed they were from VECO (Visayan Electric Company, Inc.) nor were they wearing any uniform,” Allere said.
The following day (September 11), Allere said that two military officers and two police personnel visited her home again — this time while her children were present. “When my children stepped outside, they took photos of them,” Allere said. When confronted, the officers maintained that they were investigating an alleged case of illegal electricity tapping.
It was at this time when Allere felt the need to report this to the Commission on Human Rights and Karapatan. She also filed a blotter in their barangay.
On September 29, Allere was surprised to be contacted by her siblings. She was told to come to their residence in Barangay Luz, Cebu City. “’Just come here,’ I’m told by my sibling,” Allere said. She thought there might be personal problems that needed her presence.
As she was about to enter the alley leading to the house, she noticed two non-uniformed personnel dressed in all black sitting in their motorcycles and stationed on both sides of the alley. “I had an intuition that something might be wrong but I thought it could be delivery workers since they were on their phones,” she told Bulatlat.
But when she saw her siblings’ uneasy faces and heard them say that “some people” wanted to talk to her, Allere’s gut-feeling got validated. She immediately turned to her brother George and asked, “Are those military outside? Are they trapping me?” The alley leading to her brother’s house, she recalled, was narrow and ended in a dead-end leaving her with no clear way out.
Her brother, George, was told she needed to cooperate. A van was parked outside the road with hazard lights on and motorcycles were on standby. “I rushed out of the house, surpassing them, and thankfully there was a stoplight counting down from 37 seconds. I saw a 62B jeepney and immediately rode it to escape them,” she said.
It was only later, after speaking with her siblings and relatives, that Allere learned two men who identified themselves as “Tony” and “Tonix” who claimed to be members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines had approached her family.
George, who lives in Calape, Bohol, was reportedly brought to Cebu on September 28, 2025, to persuade Allere. He had first been visited by the same men on September 15 in Calape insisting Allere was being manipulated by the communist party.
“They told my family to convince me to stop joining rallies and to cooperate. They said if I did, they wouldn’t bother me anymore,” she said. Allere added that her family was promised livelihood support in exchange for her compliance.
Personal for Allere
For years, Allere has faced persistent harassment for her activism. In 2019, she was red-tagged as a member of the Communist Party of the Philippines–New People’s Army (CPP-NPA). Two years later, in 2021, children were reportedly paid by the armed forces to post flyers around Cebu’s Carbon Market bearing her photo and branding her a communist.
In July 2022 at the peak of Carbon Market privatization, Allere told Bulatlat that she was nearly arrested during a prayer rally held at the Carbon Market grounds by police officers. “They were about to pick me up, police officers from the same station that later filed a subpoena against us,” Allere said. “But the people defended me.”
Authorities instead confiscated her tote bag, which contained petitions and signatures opposing the privatization of the Carbon Market. Allere and the urban poor communities in the market established the Movement Against Carbon Market Privatization (MACMP).
Allere was also present during the demolition of Sitio Riverside in Barangay Looc, Mandaue City, on January 31, 2019. According to a report by Superbalita Cebu, Tony Pet Juanico, a representative from the Housing and Urban Poor Development Office (HUDO), assured residents affected by the demolition that they would be prioritized for relocation once the planned low-rise condominium project is completed.
The same promise was made during Allere’s dialogue with HUDO in the city hall. “We had a good conversation that they’d build the community houses,” she said. Allere recalled that an officer from HUDO told her, “[W]e even build houses for dogs, how much more for you people?”
But they proceeded with the demolition anyway, with patrol cars and 72 police officers arriving with mobile jail. “With an armalite, the policemen are shouting ‘Where is Bebe?’,” she recalled police officers taunting her.
There were no proper relocations for the residents of then Sitio Riverside. “In most demolitions I witnessed, there were no considerations of the pregnant women, kids still at school, elderly, and persons living with disability,” Allere said.
For Allere, the cause is personal. She once lived in an urban poor community in Lorega, Cebu City which got demolished in January 2015, and had to be relocated at a former dumping site in White Road, Inayawan Cebu City.
Gabriela Partylist expressed solidarity with Allere and other advocates facing harassment. The women’s group reiterated that activism is not a crime and condemned state efforts to silence dissent.
“Kapag ginagamit ang kapangyarihan ng estado para manakot, malinaw na ito ay anyo ng karahasan ng estado,” said Gabriela Rep. Sarah Elago. “Ang mga tulad ni Nanay Bebe ay hindi kriminal kundi tagapagtanggol ng karapatan, at dapat silang pinoprotektahan, hindi binabantaan.”
Karapatan likewise denounced the continuing harassment. “We stand with Nanay Bebe, who dares to fight for justice and human rights. The ongoing surveillance and intimidation of activists show that natural disasters aren’t the only threats communities face today,” the group said. “While storms and floods devastate lives, so does the violence of militarization and political persecution.”While years of harassment and intimidation have not shaken her resolve, Allere said that this time feels different. “They might jail me,” she told Bulatlat. (DAA)
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