MANILA, Philippines — The abuse of terrorism laws to persecute human rights activists continued unabated in the Philippines despite the Marcos administration's creation of a well-publicized human rights "super body" in May, according to an international human rights watchdog on Monday., the illegal raid of a peasant leader's home and the freezing of bank accounts of human rights groups red-tagged by the military, the CIVICUS report noted.
A day after the creation of the "super body," a Cebu City regional trial court issued warrants of arrest against 28 development workers or individuals with ties to the Community Empowerment and Resource Network, a non-government organization focused on poverty alleviation. Moreover, AMP said the cases appear to be signs that the Philippine government is "under pressure to show progress" in the prosecution of terrorism financing and money laundering cases to escape the “grey list” of the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering.On June 18, 2024, security forces barged into the unoccupied home of peasant leader Ronnie Manalo in Bulacan, ransacking his property and allegedly planting a gun.
In June, the Anti-Money Laundering Council also froze the bank accounts of non-government organizations working with communities in Eastern Visayas. This includes the Leyte Center for Development in Palo, Leyte, which was previously branded by the military as a front organization of the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the New People's Army during the Duterte administration.