Work together for Just Peace, Dignity and Development for All
- Defend NGOs Alliance
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
Press Release, 19 August 2025
The Defend NGOs Alliance-Visayas and National, along with Pundok Sagop Kalikopan (PSK) and the United Church of Christ in the Philippines, is holding a press conference today on the occasion of World Humanitarian Day to assert their civic spaces and express genuine solidarity with global NGOs amid shrinking civic spaces worsened by state attacks.
Non-government organizations (NGOs) stand at the forefront of service, addressing gaps in government services—providing food assistance, community-based education, healthcare, and even disaster preparedness training and workshops—while helping grassroots communities develop sustainable practices despite often being neglected and left behind.
Despite years of service and established groundwork, NGOs face intensifying threats from neoliberal policies, excessive bureaucracy, political maneuvering, and economic assaults that undermine their ability to serve marginalized communities. In the Philippines, counterinsurgency programs cast a wide net of baseless accusations against NGOs, maliciously tagging them at “terrorist financiers” despite their legitimacy and compliance with government laws.
Through the twin terror laws—R.A. 10168, or the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act of 2012, and R.A. 11479, or the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020—human rights defenders, development workers, NGOs, and ordinary citizens experience harassment, surveillance, and charges of terrorism financing.
The communities they serve suffer most from these attacks, as grassroots communities endure anxiety and fear caused by military hamletting, aerial bombings, forced evacuations, and the conversion of schools and civilian areas into military camps.
“The work of NGOs signifies the very backbone of humanitarian and development work. These attacks hinder the delivery of genuine service to the communities. We are humanitarian workers, not terrorists!” says Jazmin Jerusalem, Defend NGOs Alliance Spokesperson.
International financial monitoring bodies like the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which set global standards against money laundering and terrorist financing, also heavily impact NGOs in the Philippines. Stricter compliance requirements for accreditation and bank accounts restrict their operations. The Marcos Jr. administration’s adherence to these standards results in the maligning of legitimate NGOs such as the Community Empowerment Resource Network, Inc. (CERNET), and the Leyte Center for Development, Inc. (LCDE), branding them as “legal fronts” of the CPP-NPA.
These laws blur the line between justice and persecution, labeling anyone they suspect as a terrorist. They fuel red-tagging and terror-tagging, eroding public trust and putting lives at risk. In truth, they serve as weapons of repression—shrinking civic spaces in broad daylight and violating human, economic, social, and cultural rights.
On World Humanitarian Day, the Defend NGOs Alliance-Visayas reminds the public and the government that humanitarian work must never be criminalized. Upholding IHL means protecting civilians, respecting the role of humanitarian and development workers, and ensuring that grassroots communities are empowered rather than silenced. True global solidarity is rooted in defending these principles.
Defend NGOs Alliance emphasizes that there can be no genuine development without peace, and no peace without justice. They call for the government to end attacks on civil society, respect humanitarian principles, and work toward lasting peace that upholds the dignity and rights of all.
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