KARAPATAN fully supports the filing of civil and criminal countercharges by four Southern Tagalog activists against 17 soldiers and their paid agents who deliberately gave false statements against them in order to charge them with violation of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA).
The activists – Hailey Pecayo, Tanggol Batangan spokesperson; Jasmin Rubia, Mothers and Children for the Protection of Human Rights secretary general; Ken Rementilla, Anakbayan-Southern Tagalog coordinator; and John Peter Angelo Garcia, chair of the Youth Advocates for Peace and Justice at the University of the Philippines-Los Baños – filed on July 19, 2024 charges of perjury, grave coercion, grave misconduct, conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service and unfair discrimination in rendering public service at the Office of the Ombudsman against 59th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army (IBPA) commander Lt. Col. Ernesto Teneza Jr., 16 soldiers and five other individuals who were described by KARAPATAN as paid agents of the military.
Because the respondents are employed in government, they will suffer the maximum penalty of 12 years imprisonment, up to PhP1 million in fines and perpetual disqualification from any position in government, if found guilty of perjury. On the other hand, the maximum penalty for grave misconduct and other administrative cases is dismissal from government service.
The countercharges stem from the trumped-up case filed by Sgt. Jean Claude Bajaro and Cpl. Ivan Neil Ogatis of the 59th IBPA against Pecayo, Rementilla and Rubia which were eventually dismissed by city prosecutors in Sta. Rosa City and Antipolo. Garcia, whose name was included in the soldiers’ complaint, has likewise been cleared by the courts.
“The lives and security of the four young human rights workers were at risk when they were charged and implicated as ‘terrorists’ in these cases. It is high time we push back against the pervasive culture of impunity that has shielded human rights violators for so long,” said Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay, “and exact accountability from the perpetrators.”
According to KARAPATAN, there are at least 112 individuals facing complaints and charges under the twin terror laws – Anti Terrorism Act and the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act.
“There is an apparent mad rush to harass activists using these laws to derail them from pursuing their advocacies and to silence dissent. We will not be surprised if a quota system is put in place by the Anti-Terrorism Council and the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict to rack up their numbers,” Palabay said.
As Marcos Jr.’s 3rd State of the Nation Address approaches, KARAPATAN reiterated its call for the repeal of the terror laws. “These laws serve the real terrorists – those in power who order, perpetrate and cover up human rights violations. We call on the public to demand justice and the junking of the terror laws,” Palabay said.