02/09/2026
PRESS RELEASE
September 2, 2026
BIEN-Cebu: Workers fight back! Stop the attacks against Cebu human rights defenders! Hands off John Ruiz III, Dyan Gumanao, Jhonggie Rumol!
CEBU CITY — The BPO Industry Employees Network (BIEN)-Cebu vehemently condemned what it described as dubious and trumped-up charges against Cebu-based human rights defenders John Ruiz III of BAYAN Muna Party-list, Dyan Gumanao of HUSTISYA, and Jhonggie Rumol of the Visayas Institute for Human Dignity and Advancement (VIHDA) Inc.
BIEN-Cebu said the charges reflect a broader pattern in which accusations and legal processes are used against individuals and communities who challenge injustice, assert their rights, and hold those in power accountable.
“Ridiculous and outright lies—this is what these charges against Jhonggie, Dyan, and John are. These accusations seek to silence their advocacy, disrupt their work among marginalized communities, and sow fear among ordinary people who dare to speak out against injustice,” said Kyle Enero, President of BIEN-Cebu.
On August 31, following a protest commemorating National Heroes Day, Ruiz was arrested near Abellana National High School by elements of the CIDG-7 on the basis of a warrant stemming from an attempted murder case filed in January 2024 in Himamaylan, Negros Occidental. The same case also implicated other individuals, including Gumanao and Rumol.
BIEN-Cebu noted that the latest case is not the first legal action Ruiz has faced in connection with his political and advocacy work. Prior to his arrest, Ruiz and other Cebu-based leaders were charged in connection with a 2025 anti-corruption protest outside the DPWH Cebu City office.
Ruiz posted bail on September 2 after complying with court requirements, including a P120,000 bail bond.
“At a time when ordinary Filipinos are outraged over allegations of massive corruption involving flood-control projects, confidential and intelligence funds, and the railroading of Pax Silica, John—along with Dyan and Jhonggie—is being forced to confront the enormous financial and personal burden of defending themselves against charges they categorically deny. Ordinary people are made to spend hundreds of thousands of pesos simply to secure temporary liberty, while those accused of plundering the people’s coffers continue to enjoy wealth and power,” Enero added.
For BIEN-Cebu, this imbalance in power is something workers understand from their own daily experiences. While the circumstances may be different, workers likewise confront situations in which those who hold greater economic and institutional power can use accusations, disciplinary procedures, and other mechanisms against them.
Inside workplaces, employees can face disciplinary notices and administrative cases based on allegations they dispute, while having to defend their livelihoods before management structures in which employers wield considerably greater power. For workers living from one paycheck to another, even a suspension, prolonged administrative proceeding, or dismissal can threaten not only their jobs but their families’ ability to afford food, rent, utilities, education, and other basic necessities.
“Workers know what it means to have false accusations used against us by those who hold power over our livelihoods. We endure low wages, contractualization, union-busting, violations of security of tenure, illegal dismissals, and workplace charges that can be used to justify disciplinary action or termination. When your entire livelihood depends on your job, even a baseless accusation can become a powerful weapon against you,” said Enero, who also serves as Interim Vice-President for Visayas of BIEN.
The group stressed that this shared experience should compel workers to oppose the use of power, whether political or economic, to deprive people of their rights. BIEN-Cebu said workers have a direct stake in defending civil liberties because the rights to speak, assemble, organize, protest, and seek redress are the same democratic rights workers rely upon when fighting for higher wages, secure employment, humane working conditions, and protection from abuse.
BIEN-Cebu also denounced what it called the hypocrisy of the Marcos Jr. administration, saying the government should prioritize the worsening conditions confronting Filipino workers and poor families instead of allowing state institutions and legal processes to be weaponized against human rights defenders.
The group stressed that workers continue to confront inadequate wages, precarious employment, contractualization, violations of security of tenure, and attacks on their right to organize, while the rising cost of living further erodes the value of their wages. BIEN-Cebu maintained that repressing those who expose these conditions does nothing to resolve the social and economic problems confronting the majority of Filipinos.
“A government that claims to respect human rights cannot allow the law to become a weapon against its own people. Poverty cannot be solved by silencing the poor. Low wages cannot be solved by intimidating workers. Corruption cannot be solved by persecuting those who expose and condemn it. If the government wants social unrest to end, then it must address the conditions of exploitation, inequality, and injustice that compel people to struggle in the first place,” Enero said.
BIEN-Cebu demanded the immediate dismissal of what it describes as trumped-up charges against Ruiz, Gumanao, and Rumol and called for an end to the weaponization of legal processes against human rights defenders and ordinary citizens exercising their democratic rights.
The group likewise called on BPO workers and the broader working class to stand in solidarity with Ruiz, Gumanao, and Rumol, emphasizing that workers cannot remain indifferent when democratic rights are threatened. It stressed that defending these rights is inseparable from workers’ own struggle to secure decent wages, stable employment, humane working conditions, and dignity both inside and outside the workplace.
“The rights being attacked today are the same rights workers need to defend ourselves tomorrow. We cannot fight for higher wages, secure jobs, and better working conditions if we are afraid to speak, assemble, and collectively assert our demands. Workers must stand together with all those whose rights are under attack. We must defend our democratic rights and our collective power to fight for a society where the interests and welfare of ordinary people come before the wealth and power of a privileged few,” Enero ended.
For reference:
KYLE ENERO
President, BIEN-Cebu
Interim Vice-President for Visayas, BIEN
Email: [email protected]
