In his reinvestigation report dated May 24, Prosecution Attorney James Noel V. Morente stated, “After a careful perusal of the records of this case, this office is constrained to dismiss the instant complaint for lack of probable cause against the aforementioned accused-movants.”
“This award also comes at a crucial time, against the backdrop of a rapidly deteriorating human rights crisis and alarming democratic backsliding in the Philippines, and this award is a recognition of the tremendous challenges we currently face amid worsening attacks on human rights defenders, police brutality, militarization, and the narrowing of civic and democratic spaces in the country.”
“An urgent and decisive action from the Supreme Court is a matter of life and death for activists and human rights defenders especially now when we are being increasingly targeted in the government’s counterinsurgency and counterterror campaign for our work and causes.”
In its second manifestation, the group stressed that the SC should revisit the CA ruling as their leaders and members continue to experience judicial harassment, threats, and red-tagging by military and police authorities, including those perpetrated by the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) spokesperson and Southern Luzon Command chief Antonio Parlade Jr.
“There is a clear and systemic pattern of vilifying human rights defenders as ‘terrorists’ or ‘subversives’ that has started even before the Duterte regime.”
By ANNE MARXZE D. UMIL MANILA – Lies! These were the sentiments of human rights workers who were recently issued with arrest warrants based solely on shady testimonies. Karapatan’s national chairperson Elisa Lubi and Karapatan-Southern Mindanao Region secretary general Jayvee “Jay” Apiag were slapped with attempted murder charges by Corporal Elvin Jay Claud on June…
“While a law penalizing red-tagging is welcome, the draconian Anti-Terrorism Act violates our basic human rights, including the right to a free press.”
“There is no question that these charges against her are fabricated and are only obviously meant to threaten her, to silence her from continuing her human rights work.”
Caraga police has announced late this afternoon that they arrested Renalyn Tejero.
Renalyn Tejero was abducted by suspected police at 5 A.M. today, March 21.
This Women’s Month, rights group Karapatan called on the Commission on Human Rights to look into the case of pregnant Elizabeth Estilon, and Enriqueta Guelas, 62, who were arrested on Dec. 24, 2020 following a raid in barangay Lalod, Bulusan, Sorsogon and charged with violation of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 and illegal possession of firearms and explosives.