Events

This is how community work is punished in the Philippines today. Two women in their 60s were arrested in Pavia, Iloilo on 02 April, in the middle of Holy Week, when courts slow down, when offices close early, when most people are told to pause and reflect. That pause did not apply to Josephine Parra Porquia (64 years old) and Ma. Luisa Tagamolila Guillen (62 years old). They were taken on the basis of accusations that follow a familiar pattern: tag someone as a rebel, build a

Frenchie Mae Cumpio and Marielle Domequil's conviction shows how easily flawed charges can move through the system and still result in conviction, despite the lack of credible proof. When courts begin to uphold cases that should not have prospered, repression no longer hides behind impunity. It becomes policy, procedure, and precedent.

The passing of Teresa Claire “Teray” Alicaba in March 2026 is a profound loss for the Philippine development community and a stark indictment of the ongoing judicial harassment against human rights defenders (HRDs). As a dedicated officer of the Community Empowerment Resource Network (CERNET), Teray’s life and work represented a commitment to structural change and the empowerment of marginalized sectors across the Visayas. On behalf of the Council for People’s Development and

On March 5, 2026, the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL), Atty. Rey Gorgonio, and the development workers of Paghidaet sa Kauswagan Development Group (PDG), accompanied by members of the Defend NGOs Alliance filed a petition for a Writ of Amparo and Habeas Data at the Manila Supreme Court to seek protection from persisting death threats and surveillance made by suspected military elements. Atty. Rey Gorgonio along with development workers of Paghidaet sa Kauswagan Deve

The Defend NGOs Alliance welcomes the dismissal of the civil forfeiture case against our national spokesperson Jazmin “Minet” Aguisanda-Jerusalem, who is also the Director of the Leyte Center for Development, Inc. (LCDe) and former Chairperson of the Citizens’ Disaster Response Network. The case was heard at RTC Branch 28, Manila City Hall, in relation to a forfeiture order issued by the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC). This victory is not the end of the line for the bat

The Defend NGOs Alliance conveners together with Karapatan, Tanggol Magsasaka held a media forum on 16 February 2026 to discuss the House Resolutions calling for the investigation of enforcement of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 and the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act of 2012. The House resolutions were e-filed by Mamamayang Liberal Partylist representative Leila de Lima. The forum comes at a pivotal moment as Congress is being called upon to review how the

The Defend NGOs Alliance strongly denounces the conviction of community journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio and lay worker Marielle Domequil, a ruling that lays bare how the Philippine justice system has been weaponized to criminalize dissent, silence truth tellers, and terrorize civil society into submission. This conviction is not justice. It is repression dressed up as due process. Frenchie Mae and Marielle have been deprived of their freedom for nearly six years through fabric

The Council for People’s Development and Governance (CPDG), together with the Defend NGOs Alliance, stands in unwavering solidarity with Atty. Antonio Gabriel “Dean Tony” La Viña and all human rights defenders (HRDs) who continue to face grave threats to their lives, security, and freedom as a result of red-tagging. Last December 2025, retired Lt. General Antonio Parlade, former spokesperson of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), publicl

The Defend NGOs Alliance denounces the recent legal harassment of development worker and community leader Carmilo Tabada—currently facing revived charges long dismissed by the courts.  Tabada is currently Barangay Councilor of Brgy Poblacion, Trinidad, Bohol.   The Alliance sees Tabada's arrest as part of the Philippine government’s escalating use of anti-terrorism and financial suppression mechanisms to intimidate and constrain independent civic action. The continuing harras

DefendNGOs Alliance asks development actors to support urgent actions to reclaim civic space. This includes reviewing and moving towards amending or repealing the ATA, related terrorism financing laws, EO 70, and ultimately abolishing the NTF-ELCAC.