Accountability Over Allegations: A Statement of Support for Estrella Catarata and the CERNET 27

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 30 April 2024  press conference in Dumaguete City hosted by the Philippine Information Agency (PIA). During this event, Escanillas insistently red-tagged Community Empowerment Resource Network, Inc. (CERNET) and further alleged that Farmers Development Center (FARDEC) as a “communist terrorist group (CTG)” and its Executive Director was a “CTG leader,” subsequently claiming that because Catarata is now with SIBAT, that organization is also “CTG-affiliated.”

These malicious claims were further amplified on 18 May 2024, when the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) published Catarata's blurred photo on their Facebook page. While not mentioning her name, the post tagged her as the “No. 1 Most Wanted Terrorist Financier” in Central Visayas and falsely claimed she had been “arrested and detained,” despite the fact that she voluntarily presented herself to the court to process her bail.

These procedural failures are compounded by evidence provided by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on  04 February 2025—including Articles of Incorporation and financial reports from 2011 to 2022—which unequivocally proves the legitimacy and regulatory compliance of CERNET. The Alliance also notes that the prosecution has been marked by grave abuse of authority, including the indictment of three deceased individuals and the initial recommendation of “no bail” for an offense that is bailable under the Revised Rules on Bail.

The civil suit filed by Catarata against Escanillas serves as a vital pushback against red-tagging, while the collective legal defense of civic space against the misapplication of the Terrorist Financing Prevention and Suppression Act of 2012 (RA 10168). On 30 July 2025, administrative and criminal charges were filed against the Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecutors for violating the rules on subscription, which require the physical appearance of complainants; a rule bypassed by Escanillas in his initial endorsement of the case.

This pattern of procedural malpractice and red-tagging has drawn international condemnation, with five United Nations Special Rapporteurs expressing formal concern on 29 August 2024, regarding the misuse of counter-terrorism laws to target human rights defenders in the Philippines.

We, the Defend NGOs Alliance, call for an immediate end to the harassment of Estrella Catarata and the CERNET 27. We demand the dismissal of all trumped-up charges that rely on rhetoric rather than evidence and an end to the reckless red-tagging that puts the lives of development workers at risk. Accountability must be upheld; the law should serve as a shield for the people, not a weapon to silence those who serve the marginalized. We stand firm in our commitment to defend our ranks, reclaim our civic spaces, and ensure that justice prevails for all human rights defenders.#