Pursue Justice and Accountability: LCDe Petitions Banks, AMLC Over Frozen Funds

Even after securing court orders in favor of releasing funds, the Leyte Center for Development, Inc. (LCDe) still continues to endure months of asset freezing.

On 20 February 2026, the Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 28 denied the Anti-Money Laundering Council’s request for an Asset Preservation Order (APO) and lifted its temporary freezing under the Provisional Asset Preservation Order (PAPO) signaling the release of funds which has been extensively withheld for two years since the initial freeze order. A month after, the AMLC filed a motion for reconsideration which was denied by the same court maintaining that it did not find sufficient evidence to continue holding the NGO’s funds.

Even with the directive, the AMLC insisted to wait for the expiration of freeze orders and the necessity that it remain frozen for “proceedings.” This was answered in return by the Manila RTC Branch 28 that the council cannot supersede an order from the court, directing the AMLC “to allow the immediate access of the respondents to their respective bank accounts, consistent with the Court’s prior Orders dated 20 February 2026 and 18 March 2026.”

Non-compliance was also observed in LCDe’s banks Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company (Metrobank) and the Philippine Savings Bank (PSBank). Both refused to receive the 11 June 2026 Order from the Manila RTC Branch 28 which unequivocally orders the unfreezing of LCDe’s bank accounts with a manager from Metrobank – Marasbaras Branch even stating that a certification for the AMLC is required before they are given access to the accounts.

In light of this, LCDe petitions Metrobank, PSBank, and the AMLC for indirect contempt. The mentioned respondents implicated as knowingly refusing to comply with court directives even after repeated requests and continuous notice. The prolonged restriction of LCDe’s financial resources constitutes as unlawful deprivation of property. Without a legal basis to continue holding LCDe’s funds, this indicates legal harassment against innocent development workers who have been targeted with false charges and are left to face long negative effects.

LCDe’s case serves as a clear example of how the present judiciary system and the law can be tilted and ignored by repressive state actors in order to violate rights and intimidate development workers and civil society. The injustice and impunity prevalent because of the misuse of counterterrorism laws, in LCDe’s case, red-tagging and the exercise of the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act of 2012 (TFPSA) has been used to persecute development workers and interfere with much needed humanitarian and development work in communities. It is apparent in LCDe’s struggle to reclaim funds despite the court siding with the organization how those in power can pick and choose when the law is applicable while ordinary civilians are pressed with crimes, they did not even commit.

LCDe is a respected non-government organization operating in Eastern Visayas focused on assisting communities in disaster recovery. Their services include relief operations and disaster risk preparedness which are important and timely for the Philippines that is visited by tropical cyclones yearly more than any other country in the world and whose flood control projects have become a subject of pork barrel corruption.

The Defend NGOs Alliance supports LCDe’s charges of indirect contempt against Metrobank, PSBank, and the AMLC. LCDe has been subjected to prolonged financial punishment due to baseless charges and it is high time that their organizational and personal funds be released immediately, as well as the dismissal of the unfounded remaining civil forfeiture case against them. We also urgently call for the repeal of counterterrorism laws Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act of 2012 (TFPSA) and its twin Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 (ATA) which has been used as a repressive tool by the state to wave and hammer down on critical dissenters and advocacy groups.

The judiciary system cannot be selectively used to clamp down on ordinary civilians but disobeyed by state actors. Let development workers serve the people. #