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Aldeem Ya\u00f1ez has been actively involved in peacebuilding and human rights work in the Philippines for three decades. Ya\u00f1ez is a volunteer at the regional office for development of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI) in the provinces of Visayas and Mindanao.<\/p>\n
On April 10, 2022, Ya\u00f1ez was arrested at his home in Barangay Iponan, Cagayan de Oro. According to the Philippine National Police (PNP) and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), a gun, grenades and subversive documents were allegedly confiscated during the raid. His family observed people entering the house through the back door, which gave them the opportunity to plant the confiscated items in the house. The arrest was made on the basis of an arrest warrant dated April 6, 2022, for an alleged violation of the Illegal Possession of Firearms and Ammunition Act (Republic Act 10591) and the Illegal Possession of Explosives Act (Republic Act 9516). According to reports from human rights groups, it is a common practice of the PNP and AFP to plant weapons and explosives as evidence on suspects during searches in order to fabricate charges for the arrest of human rights defenders.<\/p>\n
IFI members reported that Ya\u00f1ez had previously been subjected to red-tagging<\/em> attacks. In 2018 and 2020, Ya\u00f1ez and other human rights defenders were already victims of arbitrary arrests and accused by the AFP of being members of the armed communist rebel group New People’s Army (NPA). The courts had lifted the charges twice.\u00a0<\/p>\n Following Ya\u00f1ez’s detention, the Department of Justice filed another indictment against him on August 24, 2022, for allegedly violating the Terrorist Financing Prevention and Suppression Act (Republic Act 10168). According to the indictment, he is alleged to have been involved in the transfer of foreign development funds.<\/p>\n Ya\u00f1ez’s family has since been fighting for the dropping of the now more than 50 fabricated charges. They claim that the illegal weapons and explosives were planted on Ya\u00f1ez and that the arrest warrant issued against him in this connection was also issued on the basis of false witness statements. Ya\u00f1ez is detained in the Cagayan de Oro City Prison.\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n