On December 2, 2024, Sarah Abellon-Alikes, an activist of the Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA), was indicted for alleged violations of the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression of Act (Republic Act No. 10168). An alleged former member of the communist armed rebel group New People’s Army (NPA) accused Alikes of providing financial and logistical resources to the NPA. This should have enabled the NPA to set fire to two Philex Mining Corporation trucks in February 2017. Alikes was already acquitted in 2018 of a charge of arson and robbery, which was also linked to the Philex incident in 2017.
The non-governmental organization (NGO) Paghidaet sa Kauswagan Development Group (PDG) is also facing similar charges. In April 2024, five individuals associated with PDG were indicted for alleged violations of Republic Act No. 10168. In early January 2025, three of the accused, namely Federico Salvilla, Perla Pavillar, and Dharyll Albanez, were finally arrested in Negros Occidental. Albanez paid a bail of 400,000 pesos to obtain his release; the other two have yet to come up with funds for the bail. As an aid worker, Albanez had also never worked for PDG, which casts doubt on the credibility of the charges.
In a petition, the Philippine network Defend NGOs Alliance criticized the charges against PDG and described them as an attempt to criminalize civil society organizations in the Philippines. The network demands that the charges against the defendants be dropped immediately. In a statement, the network also referred to the increasing number of charges of alleged terrorism financing against progressive NGOs under the government of Marcos Jr. in the past year 2024.
Photo © Raffy Lerma