Two men on board a motorcycle arrived outside the compound of Paghida-et sa Kauswagan Development Groun (PDG) in Kabankalan, Negros Occidental, at approximately 9:30 a.m. One of them took photographs of the vicinity using a mobile phone, while the driver remained on standby.
“The arrest and harassment of development workers not only undermine their ability to serve vulnerable communities but also erode the democratic freedoms enshrined in our Constitution,” said PDG in the letter.
PDG, at its core, has spent decades advocating for agrarian reform, sustainable agriculture, and the rights of small farmers and fisherfolk in Southern Negros. Genol told Bulatlat that PDG was founded in 1987 in response to the Negros famine.