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Originally published on Gökay Akbulut - Mitglied des deutschen Bundestags As part of the German Bundestag programme “Parliamentarians Protect Parliamentarians”, I have applied to sponsor Philippine human rights defender Jazmin “Minet” Jerusalem. Jazmin Jerusalem is the Executive Director of the Leyte Center for Development and Empowerment. For decades, the organisation has supported poor, marginalised and disaster-affected communities on the islands of Leyte and Samar. It pro

03 July 2026—Today is the 6th year implementation of the Duterte regime’s Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA). This marks six years of systematic weaponization of the law—facilitating the criminalization of human rights and development work. Alongside the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act (TFPSA), the ATA has been used to freeze assets (intended for community-oriented needs/services), block humanitarian missions, and place grassroots organizers and ordinary citizens und

A Statement of Support to the Anti-Mining Community in Kasibu, Nueva Vizcaya The Council for People's Development and Governance (CPDG) and Defend NGOs Alliance welcome the dismissal of the forcible entry case filed against Bishop Elmer Mangalinao, Fr. Christian Dumangeng, and several members of the community of Kasibu, Nueva Vizcaya, on 24 June 2026. Furthermore, CPDG and Defend NGOs support the barricades and people's collective action against the mining exploration of Nort

In light of recent legal victories, such as the dismissal of all counts of terrorism financing charges against the Leyte Center for Development, Inc. (LCDe) and other similar legal developments, the Defend NGOs Alliance maintains that the assertion for civic space must continue. On 19 June 2026, Ms. Jazmin “Minet” Jerusalem is set to attend the rescheduled pre-trial hearing on LCDe’s civil forfeiture case. She and other LCDe staff continue to endure asset freezing by the Ant

On this day, May 26, 2026, CERNET’s preliminary investigation of a filed case of perjury against Brigadier General Joey Escanillas and Bernabe Nieves is set to take place. This came after CERNET was repeatedly red-tagged and falsely charged with financing terrorists. The Defend NGOs Alliance strongly supports CERNET’s lawsuit as an important step towards reclaiming justice from the vilification of state forces. #PushBackAgainstStateRepression #AssertCivicSpaces