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

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