19/05/2026
WRCV stands with the entire NGO community in welcoming the dismissal of the fabricated terrorist financing case against the 27 board members and staff of the Community Empowerment Resource Network (CERNET).
Development work is not terrorism. Serving vulnerable and marginalized communities is not communism. These are legitimate, necessary, and courageous efforts to address poverty, injustice, and the failures bred by government corruption and ineptitude.
This dismissal affirms what civil society has long asserted: humanitarian and development work must never be criminalized. We remain steadfast in defending organizations and individuals committed to human rights, people’s empowerment, and social justice.
CERNET 27 CASE DISMISSED
In a decision dated 15 May 2026 but released only yesterday, 18 May 2026, the Court granted the Joint Motion to Dismiss filed by CERNET’s legal counsels on 31 March 2026.
The dismissal of the case marks a major victory for human rights defenders, development workers, and civil society organizations that have long been subjected to harassment, vilification, and legal persecution by State forces, particularly the NTF-ELCAC and its so-called legal task force.
The CERNET case, filed under the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act of 2012 (Anti-Terror Financing Law), was dismissed on the ground that the acts allegedly charged “do not constitute a crime under the law in force at the time of their commission.”
This ruling exposes the dangers of weaponizing counterterrorism laws against legitimate humanitarian and development work. For years, the Anti-Terror Financing Law and similar measures have been used by sectors within the government’s security apparatus, led by the NTF-ELCAC, to intimidate and silence human rights advocates, NGOs, and people’s organizations working in marginalized and rural communities.
The dismissal of the CERNET 27 case affirms a fundamental principle: serving poor and vulnerable communities is not terrorism. Development work, humanitarian assistance, and human rights advocacy must never be criminalized.
The State, through then PA Col. Joey A. Escanillas, commander of Joint Task Force Cebu, filed a complaint on 23 May 2023 before the National Prosecution Service. A year later, Senior Deputy State Prosecutor Peter Ong, head of the NTF-ELCAC legal task force, filed the Information before RTC Branch 74 in Cebu City accusing 27 directors and staff members of CERNET of allegedly funding the NPA. The 27 included three deceased individuals who had died years before the filing of the case. Following the filing of the complaint, Escanillas was promoted to Brigadier General.
Yet despite this victory, the threat to civic space remains. Even now, proposals such as the so-called “terror-grooming” bill filed by fugitive Senator Ronald dela Rosa threaten to further expand the State’s power to target dissent, activism, and community organizing under the guise of counterterrorism. Such measures risk deepening the climate of fear and legitimizing even broader attacks against civil society, humanitarian workers, and ordinary citizens exercising their democratic rights.
The CERNET 27 case demonstrates how easily vague and overbroad security laws can be exploited to justify red-tagging, fabricated accusations, prolonged legal harassment, and the destruction of reputations and organizations. It also reveals the enormous human cost of these abuses—not only for the accused and their families, but also for the communities deprived of much-needed development and humanitarian support.
In light of this dismissal, the accused are now preparing to pursue appropriate criminal, administrative, and civil actions against the individuals and agencies responsible for the malicious and wrongful prosecution of the CERNET 27 respondents.
“Those who orchestrated, enabled, and perpetuated these baseless accusations must be held accountable under the law,” Dr. Oliver Gimenez, one of the accused and currently chairperson of the CERNET Board of Trustees, said.
“Accountability cannot apply only to ordinary citizens; it must also extend to public officials and State actors who abuse legal processes to persecute dissenters and development workers,” Nancy Estolloso, one of the accused based in Dumaguete, added.
“This victory belongs not only to the CERNET 27 respondents, but to all those who continue to defend human rights, development work, and democratic freedoms amid shrinking civic space and increasing political repression,” Estrella Flores Catarata, another accused, said. Catarata also thanked all those who supported them—their lawyers who rendered services pro bono, as well as the various embassies and international agencies that encouraged them to continue the fight.
Most especially, CERNET extends its deepest gratitude to its partner people’s organizations and the communities who remain at the heart of why we continue to struggle and serve. It would have been impossible to endure this long and come this far without the care, trust, and unwavering solidarity of the people. CERNET would not be what it is today without the communities that stood beside us through years of attacks and uncertainty.
This victory is ultimately for the people whom we sought to serve through our development work, and who, in return, gave back their strength, support, and solidarity tenfold. # # #
Reference:
DR. OLIVER GIMENEZ
Chairman, CERNET Board of Trustees
