Human rights alliance KARAPATAN denounced the decision of the Regional Trial Court Branch 21 in Laoang, Northern Samar, which denied the motion to quash filed by political prisoner and KARAPATAN National Council member Alexander Philip “Chakoy” Abinguña, even as it granted the same motion of journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio due to an invalid arrest.
“The court’s ruling on Abinguña exposes the continuing persecution of human rights defenders,” said Cristina Palabay, secretary general of KARAPATAN. “While it was right for the court to recognize the invalid arrest of Frenchie Mae Cumpio, it is deeply unjust that the same principle was not applied to Chakoy, especially since the charges against them stem from the same trumped up charges of murder and attempted murder.”
In its decision, the court cited that Abinguña’s motion was denied because his stated reason was “not a proper ground” for a motion to quash. KARAPATAN said this narrow and technical interpretation disregards the broader context of unjust prosecution and the violation of Abinguña’s due process rights, especially given that the charges against him are patently baseless.
“The denial of Abinguña’s motion to quash means he will once again be subjected to prolonged detention,” Palabay said. “His rights to due process and to a speedy disposition of his case are continuously violated by the extremely slow pace of court proceedings, both in the Tacloban court, where his main cases remain unresolved, and now in the Laoang court, which refused to quash the charges.”
Palabay further pointed out that Abinguña is clearly being singled out for harassment and reprisal. Abinguña is a National Council member of KARAPATAN, and the coordinator of its regional counterpart, Katungod Sinirangang Bisayas, who bravely investigated and exposed the impacts of military operations on peasant communities in the region.
Abinguña and Cumpio were arbitrarily arrested on February 7, 2020 during the wave of house and office raids leading to arrests of activists and progressives under the Duterte regime. Both were falsely accused of illegal possession of firearms and explosives, which have been condemned as based on planted evidence and fabricated witnesses.
“Abinguna is being targeted because he exposed human rights violations committed by state forces,” Palabay asserted. “In the incidents cited against him, there was no proper identification at all, only his name, which was obtained in the military’s rogue gallery. His defense remains strong, as he was in other engagements when those alleged incidents took place.”
Abinguña has been detained for nearly six years along with Cumpio and Rural Missionaries of the Philippines (RMP) lay worker Marielle Domequil, who, along with two others, have been collectively known as the Tacloban 5. They face fabricated murder and attempted murder charges, which KARAPATAN and other rights and church groups have long decried as part of the government’s campaign to criminalize dissent and humanitarian work.
“The continuing judicial persecution of Abinguña and the Tacloban 5 demonstrates how the justice system is weaponized to silence critics and human rights advocates,” Palabay said. “Every day they spend behind bars is a day stolen from their lives and their service to poor and marginalized communities.”
KARAPATAN renewed its call for the immediate dismissal of all trumped-up charges against Abinguña, Cumpio, and Domequil, and for the release of all political prisoners in the country. “We urge the courts to correct this grave injustice,” Palabay concluded. “Free Alexander ‘Chakoy’ Abinguna, Frenchie Mae Cumpio, Marielle Domequil, and all political prisoners.”