By MICHEL JOY RADAM
Bulatlat.com

BULACAN — Human rights defenders from Philippine Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Watch submitted an urgent letter to United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, Ben Saul, condemning the Philippine government’s intensifying weaponization of counterterrorism laws to attack religious groups, development organizations, and human rights defenders at Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland on June 19.

They urged the Special Rapporteur to initiate an urgent inquiry to what they described as the “systemic abuse of counterterrorism measures in the Philippines.” 

The group highlighted in their submission the case of Rural Missionaries of the Philippines (RMP), a Catholic church-based organization with decades of humanitarian work among rural poor, indigenous peoples, and marginalized communities, whose bank accounts were forfeited due to an order by the Manila Regional Trial Court on May 21 this year. The bank accounts of the RMP-Northern Mindanao Region were also included in the said court order. 

Manila RTC concludes its decision based solely on testimonies of self-proclaimed “former rebels,” which claimed some of the international funding meant for development projects of RMP was instead used to support the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA). Despite the absence of any direct evidence tracing the funds to terrorist acts, the court deemed RMP of “commingling,” which tainted the entire funds of RMP and RMP-NMR’s accounts.

Read: Progressive groups stand in solidarity with rural missionaries

Philippine UPR Watch delegate Bishop Joseph Agpaoa, acting General Secretary of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) and vice-chairperson of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) expressed that such attacks endangers church institutions. 

“The state is targeting our ministries, freezing church properties, and criminalizing our work with the poor. What it calls counterterrorism is, in truth, dismantling ministries that for generations have served farmers, indigenous peoples, and rural communities abandoned by the state. The criminalization of Christian service to the vulnerable is an assault on the very heart of our mission,” Agpaoa said.

Similar to the case of RMP, Agpaoa added that UCCP Haran in Davao City and UCCP Fatima Church in Bohol are also facing civil forfeiture following terrorism financing charges filed by the Anti-Money Laundering Council.    

The study entitled “Playbook of Repression,” which documents how Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards have been exploited to justify broad asset freezes and prosecutions for terrorism financing based on fabricated evidence, served as reference to Philippine UPR Watch complaint. The study was jointly produced by NUPL, IBON Foundation, and the Council for People’s Development and Governance (CPDG).

The Philippine UPR Watch  also cited the cases faced by RMP lay worker Marielle Domequil and community journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio before the Regional Trial Court of Tacloban City as resembling the same pattern: declared in default by the same Manila court and barred from presenting evidence. 

Read: Journalist, activists arrested in Tacloban City

The Philippine UPR Watch said repression continued even after the removal of the Philippines from the FATF grey list.  “The Marcos government claims victory in FATF compliance while intensifying politically motivated financial sanctions and prosecutions against critical and dissenting voices. What it refuses to acknowledge is that the true cost of this so-called compliance is the severe damage inflicted on Philippine civic space,” said Josalee Deinla, National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) secretary general.

The UPR also called on the international community to demand immediate safeguards to protect the fundamental rights of the Filipino people. (AMU, RVO)