The resolutions against the two women NDFP consultants and the revolutionary groups were issued soon after the Ferdinand Marcos Jr. administration and the NDFP issued a joint statement on Nov. 28, 2023 declaring their intention to pursue the peace talks.
The warning declared by various groups in 2020 – that the ATA would be used by the government to intimidate and harass human rights defenders, activists and dissenters – has become a reality.
“I call on the Philippine government to respect this right and establish a truth reconciliation process to investigate the unlawful killings by the military, hold those accountable for these killings and provide reparations for those who suffered.”
A people’s counter-SONA protest action, noticeably broader and bigger than that of the previous year, presaged bigger and broader protests during Marcos Jr’s second year in Malacañang.
“While we at CPA continue to seek legal remedies to ensure our safety, security, and human rights in this shrinking democratic space, the state also weaponizes everything at its disposal to silence us.”
“The Philippine government must ensure the strict compliance by its national security forces with domestic and international laws protecting the basic rights of persons deprived of liberty and impose all necessary sanctions on those who ceaselessly and obstinately transgress these obligations.”
Cristina Palabay, secretary-general of Karapatan, said that the increased use of the anti-terror law and other trumped-up charges against activists has become a pattern during the first year of Ferdinand Marcos Jr administration.
Minerva Lopez of the NUPL, who is also among the lawyers of Bulatlat, said that despite the denial of the TRO, “the merits of the case are yet to be decided upon by the court.”
“The blocking measure imposed through Defendant NTC’s 08 June 2022 Memorandum constitutes censorship and prior restraint or subsequent punishment, as the case may be, on the past, present, and future news as well as editorial content of Bulatlat.com.”
“No matter who is in power, we have remained fearless in our truth-telling. We will continue our work while we also consider all legal remedies available to question, and stop yet another state-sponsored repression.”
“For the past three decades I have always worked for just peace to reign in the Philippines and for the Filipino people. Members of the government peace negotiating panels and other GRP officials can attest to this.”