Human rights alliance KARAPATAN strongly condemned the arrest of Makabayan Vice-President for Visayas and BayanMuna Central Visayas coordinator John Ruiz III on trumped-up attempted murder charges, calling it yet another attempt by state forces to harass and intimidate a known activist and human rights defender in the region.
Ruiz was arrested by police after joining a mobilization in Cebu City on August 31 against foreign military intervention, imperialism, and agreements including the EDCA, VFA, Mutual Defense Treaty, and Pax Silica. He was taken into police custody as human rights paralegals and lawyers went to assist him.
“We condemn the arrest of John Ruiz, who is being arrested yet again and slapped with another set of trumped-up charges. There is no other apparent motive behind these cases but to harass and intimidate him. Ruiz is a known activist in Central Visayas who has been visibly present in activities and actions defending human rights and national sovereignty,” said KARAPATAN secretary general Cristina Palabay.
Ruiz is among the four individuals named in a January 22, 2024 warrant of arrest issued by the Regional Trial Court Branch 55 in Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental, for attempted murder.
The case arose from allegations linking them to an armed encounter in Toboso, Negros Occidental, on April 6, 2023—an incident Ruiz has maintained he could not have participated in because he was in Cebu City at the time.
Two other human rights defenders are also implicated in the same case. Ruiz had previously faced frustrated homicide charges filed by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in 2023. He had posted bail in the earlier case.
“How many more fabricated charges will the government throw at John Ruiz and other activists in Central Visayas? We strongly condemn these charges. State security forces are clearly obsessed with their dirty maneuvers to harass and halt the work of activists in the region,” Palabay said.
Ruiz had also been among Cebu mass leaders charged under Batas Pambansa Blg. 880 over a September 2025 anti-corruption protest outside the DPWH Cebu City District Engineering Office.
KARAPATAN demanded the immediate release of John Ruiz and the dismissal of the trumped-up charges against him.
“The Marcos Jr. government and its state forces are becoming increasingly obsessed with targeting activists, spewing out fabricated charges and enforcing state repression to silence dissent and stifle legitimate political activism. These are desperate acts of repression that must be thwarted,” Palabay said.
KARAPATAN called on the public to stand with Ruiz and other human rights defenders facing state persecution, and to amplify the condemnation of his arrest and the trumped-up charges against him.
“Those who plunder public funds and abuse their power should be the ones facing prosecution and imprisonment, not activists who expose corruption and fight for people’s rights. The people must continue to stand up, speak out, and demand accountability. Release John Ruiz! Junk the trumped-up charges against him!” Palabay said.