Alliance condemns latest government attack on NGOs and development workers- Defend NGOs Alliance
The Defend NGOs Alliance condemns the latest government attack on NGOs and dedicated development workers daring to challenge elites enriching themselves at the expense of poor Filipinos and their communities. Two staff members of the rural development NGO Paghidaet sa Kauswagan Development, Inc. (PDG) were arrested on January 2, 2025 for alleged terrorism financing in violation of section 8 of R.A. 10168. The two, Federico Salvilla and Perla Pavillar, are among four PDG staff baselessly charged with financing terrorism. State forces wrongly identified another person, Dharyl Albañez, as associated with PDG. He voluntarily turned himself in upon learning of a warrant of arrest to be served against him. Albañez posted Php 400,000 bail for two counts of terrorism financing charges.
PDG has been implementing poverty alleviation programs for farmers, fishers, sugar farm workers and landless rural workers in Negros Occidental since the collapse of the sugar industry in the early 1980s.
PDG's members and the communities they serve have been increasingly harassed and red-tagged for their advocacies against harmful projects that destroy livelihoods of farmers and the environment. PDG's Executive Director, Atty. Ben Ramos, was even extrajudicially killed in 2018.
Among the projects PDG opposes are the expansion of the Php2 billion palm oil plantation of the Consuji family spanning over 6,000 hectares. This jeopardizes the land and livelihood of poor rural residents and indigenous peoples in Barangays Gatuslao, Agboy, and Payauan.
The charges against PDG and other development workers in Negros are part of the escalating crackdown on progressive organizations, activists, human rights defenders and communities asserting rights to people-led development. In 2024, similar charges of terrorist financing were brought against prominent development workers and NGOs -- Community Empowerment Resource Network (CERNET), Leyte Center for Development, (LCDe), Farmers Development Center (FARDEC), and Katinnulong Daguiti Umili iti Amianan, Inc. (KADUAMI).
The spurious charges hinder the work of development workers in their advocacies for social justice and development. The Marcos Jr. government is harassing and maligning legitimate activities of development NGOs to give the appearance of cracking down on terrorist financing. This is part of its effort to remove the country from the Financial Action Task Force’s grey list (FATF).
We call on the government to drop the baseless charges against development workers, and to be held accountable for their harmful actions which adversely impact on the economic, social and cultural rights (ESCR) of the people. We call on international partners, peoples organizations and other rights defenders to support calls against the harassment of development workers, human rights defenders, activists and development organizations. We demand the release of Federico Salvilla and Perla Pavillar who are victims of baseless persecution.####
Related Links:
Paghidaet sa Kauswagan statement on January 3:
Tanggol Magsasaka Statement:
Rappler News Report:
Sign-on statement by Transnational Palm Oil Labour Solidarity (TPOLS)
Inquirer News Report:
BAYAN-Australia Statement:
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