13/07/2026
The CERNET 27 dismissal stands with finality! Despite the State’s attempts to weaponize the law and dismiss this victory as a "technicality," the judiciary has twice rejected their baseless claims. This is a triumph for all humanitarian and development workers who refuse to be silenced by fear. We extend our deepest solidarity to CERNET and vow to keep pushing for accountability. Justice wins.
Read the full statement below.
CERNET 27 DISMISSAL REAFFIRMED
The Court has reaffirmed its decision to dismiss the CERNET 27 case in an Order dated 10 July 2026, denying with finality the State's Motion for Reconsideration.
The Order resolved two interconnected incidents: (1) the State's Motion for Reconsideration filed on 5 June 2026 seeking to reverse the Court's 15 May 2026 Order granting the accused's Joint Motion to Dismiss; and (2) CERNET's Joint Opposition to the Motion for Reconsideration with Joint Motion to Strike from the Records, together with the State's corresponding Comments.
In its ruling, the Court held: "In sum, the State-movant has failed to present any new legal precedents or supervening facts to compel this Court to disturb its prior findings. Wherefore, premises considered, the State's Motion for Reconsideration of the Order dated May 15, 2026 is hereby DENIED for lack of merit."
With this ruling, the Court has once again affirmed what it had already declared in May: that the charges against the CERNET 27 have no legal basis.
Yet despite this clear judicial pronouncement, the attacks against CERNET did not end with the dismissal of the case. State agents, including the NTF-ELCAC and the 3rd Infantry Division of the Philippine Army, continued to publicly red-tag CERNET and its members. They insisted that the dismissal was not a "blanket immunity" and attempted to diminish the ruling by claiming that the case was dismissed merely on "technicalities."
The Court's Orders tell a different story. Not once, but twice, the judiciary rejected the State's allegations. The prosecution failed to overcome the factual and legal defects of its own case. Its accusations rested heavily on perjured affidavits, unsubstantiated allegations, and false claims. When confronted with documentary evidence, official records, and the applicable law, the State failed to establish that any crime had been committed. Rather than reckon with the weakness of its evidence, it sought to recast its defeat as a mere procedural setback. The Court found otherwise.
Even with this victory, CERNET did not immediately feel victorious. Three years of relentless red-tagging, public vilification, and legal persecution left deep wounds, not only among the 27 respondents and their families, but also among the communities and people's organizations that have long partnered with CERNET in development work. Programs were disrupted, trust was tested, and lives were placed under constant uncertainty. These are harms that no court order alone can fully undo.
For this reason, this reaffirmed dismissal belongs to far more than the respondents themselves. CERNET once again expresses its deepest gratitude to its partner people's organizations, the communities we have served, our families, fellow development workers, human rights defenders, lawyers, faith-based groups, and all friends and supporters who stood beside us throughout these three long years. Your solidarity sustained us when intimidation sought to isolate us. This has been a hard-fought victory for everyone who believes that development work is not a crime.
We also pay tribute to those who have gone before us and whose commitment carried us through this struggle. Among them was our legal counsel, Retired Judge Meinrado "Menmen" Paredes, one of the first lawyers who volunteered to defend the CERNET 27 when the alleged terror financing case was filed in 2023. Even while confined in a Cebu hospital, one of his final acts in our defense was signing the Joint Manifestation submitting for resolution the Motion for Reconsideration filed by the State prosecutors. Judge Menmen passed away one day after the Court’s denial of the motion for reconsideration. His unwavering commitment to justice will forever remain part of this victory and a lasting reminder of the values we continue to uphold.
While the dismissal has now been reaffirmed with finality, our struggle does not end here. We will continue to pursue accountability against those who maliciously weaponized the law, spread falsehoods, and sought to destroy the credibility of humanitarian and development organizations. We remain steadfast in defending civic space and ensuring that no other development worker, NGO, or community is subjected to the same abuse.
This victory is for the people.
It is for every community that refused to surrender to fear, every development worker who continued to serve despite persecution, and every individual who stood in solidarity with the CERNET 27. # # #
