Events

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

The Defend NGOs Alliance welcomes the decision of the RTC Branch 74 in Cebu to dismiss the case filed against the Community Empowerment Resource Network, Inc. (CERNET) under the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act of 2012 or Republic Act (RA) No. 10168. The court decision granted CERNET’s Joint Motion to Dismiss on 31 March 2026 and was released on 18 May 2026, wherein the alleged charged acts “do not constitute a crime under the law in force at the time of the

The Council for People’s Development and Governance (CPDG) and the Defend NGOs Alliance strongly opposes the legislation of additional bills that would fortify the legal infrastructure against human rights defenders (HRDs), civil society organizations (CSOs), and development workers. Three proposed legislations pending in Congress will pose even more danger for CSOs and HRDs. The “Anti-Fake News and Disinformation Act” or House Bill (HB) 2697 and its parallel version Senate

The Defend NGOs Alliance expresses its unwavering support for Estrella Catarata, the Executive Director of Sibol ng Agham at Teknolohiya (SIBAT) and one of the CERNET 27, as she pursues her civil suit for damages against Brigadier General Joey Escanillas. This legal action, filed on 23 April 2025, serves as a necessary challenge to the dangerous practice of red-tagging and the weaponization of state resources against humanitarian and development workers. The suit stems from 3

The National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) on Tuesday, 21 April 2026, electronically filed a Manifestation with Motion to Compel the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) to unfreeze the bank accounts of the Leyte Center for Development (LCDE) at the Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 28. This move follows a series of decisive legal setbacks for the government’s attempts to freeze the assets and prosecute the leadership of the veteran humanitarian organization. The De

The Defend NGOs Alliance strongly appeal the dropping of the civil forfeiture case filed against Ms. Jazmin Jerusalem and other staff of the Leyte Center for Development, Inc. (LCDe) as well as the release of LCDe’s funds including their personal funds that were frozen under the Provisional Asset Preservation Order (PAPO) by the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC). To recall, last February 20, the Regional Trial Court of Manila, Branch 28, has already lifted the Provisional