Defend NGOs Alliance

13/05/2026

ICYMI | The pre-trial for the filed civil lawsuit against Brigadier General Escanillas for red-tagging has been postponed today. The hearing is rescheduled to July 1.

13/05/2026

The Defend NGOs Alliance show support for Estrella Catarata, current Executive Director of the Sibol ng Agham at Teknolohiya (SIBAT) and a member of the CERNET 27. She is currently pursuing justice from red-tagging by filing a civil lawsuit against Brigadier General Joey Escanillas for damages. Catarata’s case is due for a hearing today, May 13, 2026.

12/05/2026

Accountability Over Allegations: A Statement of Support for Estrella Catarata and the CERNET 27

The Defend NGOs Alliance expresses its unwavering support for Estrella Catarata, the Executive Director of Sibol ng Agham at Teknolohiya (SIBAT) and one of the CERNET 27, as she pursues her civil suit for damages against Brigadier General Joey Escanillas. This legal action, filed on 23 April 2025, serves as a necessary challenge to the dangerous practice of red-tagging and the weaponization of state resources against humanitarian and development workers.

The suit stems from 30 April 2024 press conference in Dumaguete City hosted by the Philippine Information Agency (PIA). During this event, Escanillas insistently red-tagged Community Empowerment Resource Network, Inc. (CERNET) and further alleged that Farmers Development Center (FARDEC) as a “communist terrorist group (CTG)” and its Executive Director was a “CTG leader,” subsequently claiming that because Catarata is now with SIBAT, that organization is also “CTG-affiliated.”

These malicious claims were further amplified on 18 May 2024, when the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) published Catarata's blurred photo on their page. While not mentioning her name, the post tagged her as the “No. 1 Most Wanted Terrorist Financier” in Central Visayas and falsely claimed she had been “arrested and detained,” despite the fact that she voluntarily presented herself to the court to process her bail.

These procedural failures are compounded by evidence provided by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on 04 February 2025—including Articles of Incorporation and financial reports from 2011 to 2022—which unequivocally proves the legitimacy and regulatory compliance of CERNET. The Alliance also notes that the prosecution has been marked by grave abuse of authority, including the indictment of three deceased individuals and the initial recommendation of “no bail” for an offense that is bailable under the Revised Rules on Bail.

The civil suit filed by Catarata against Escanillas serves as a vital pushback red-tagging, while the collective legal defense of civic space against the misapplication of the Terrorist Financing Prevention and Suppression Act of 2012 (RA 10168). On 30 July 2025, administrative and criminal charges were filed against the Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecutors for violating the rules on subscription, which require the physical appearance of complainants; a rule bypassed by Escanillas in his initial endorsement of the case.

This pattern of procedural malpractice and red-tagging has drawn international condemnation, with five United Nations Special Rapporteurs expressing formal concern on 29 August 2024, regarding the misuse of counter-terrorism laws to target human rights defenders in the Philippines.

We, the Defend NGOs Alliance, call for an immediate end to the harassment of Estrella Catarata and the CERNET 27. We demand the dismissal of all trumped-up charges that rely on rhetoric rather than evidence and an end to the reckless red-tagging that puts the lives of development workers at risk. Accountability must be upheld; the law should serve as a shield for the people, not a weapon to silence those who serve the marginalized. We stand firm in our commitment to defend our ranks, reclaim our civic spaces, and ensure that justice prevails for all human rights defenders. #

The Defend NGOs Alliance expresses its unwavering support for Estrella Catarata, the Executive Director of Sibol ng Agham at Teknolohiya (SIBAT) and one of the CERNET 27, as she pursues her civil suit for damages against Brigadier General Joey Escanillas. This legal action, filed on 23 April 2025, s...

05/05/2026

Statement in Support of the CERNET 27 Trial Hearing on May 8, 2026

The crackdown on development work is not incidental—it is a calculated assault on the people’s welfare and democratic rights. Under the cover of so-called counterterrorism, the state has weaponized terror laws to shrink civic spaces, criminalize genuine service, and vilify organizations that stand with the most neglected sectors. Cases filed against organizations like CERNET expose a regime more invested in silencing dissent than in addressing the grinding poverty and inequality its own failures have produced.

A closer examination of CERNET’s case recalls that in August 2023, the organization received a subpoena over an alleged violation of RA 10168, or the “Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act of 2012.” Years later, CERNET is still forced to battle in the courts to fend off the claws of terror laws that continue to choke its capacity to operate instead of serving grassroots communities.

In this context, of the 27 respondents named in the initial filing, three individuals had already passed away, and three more have died this year. It is enraging that death has come faster for these innocent individuals than the justice they rightfully deserve. It is equally unsettling how this reflects the state’s priorities—serving foreign interests and weaponizing the law to mask its own incompetence, while laying bare its fascist schemes.

What the state calls “compliance” is nothing but coercion. It demands that organizations dilute their mandate, abandon communities, and submit to surveillance—or face harassment, frozen accounts, and fabricated charges. The cost of this forced compliance is borne by the people: programs halted, services cut, and communities left defenseless. This is not governance; it is the pinnacle of repression in fueling a counterinsurgency agenda that treats empowered communities as enemies and genuine NGOs as a threat.

We denounce this criminalization. Development work is not terrorism—it is resistance against neglect, exploitation, and systemic injustice. To attack development workers is to attack the very communities they serve. We will not be silenced, intimidated, or driven out of the spaces we have fought to build.
End the criminalization of development work! Defend the defenders! And if justice is to mean anything, it must be the corrupt, the plunderers, and the architects of repression who are held to account—not those who serve the people. #

01/05/2026

𝗡𝗘𝗪𝗦 𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗘
30 April 2026
Reference: EILER, office no. 0952 578 1423 (www.eiler.ph | [email protected])

𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗻 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝗶𝗰𝗿𝗼 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀 – 𝗘𝗜𝗟𝗘𝗥

On International Labor Day, a labor non-government organization reaffirms its call to implement living wages for millions of Filipino workers ravaged by high prices due to deregulated price setting of basic goods and made worse by recent aggressions of US and Israel in West Asia.

“Minimum wages should be based on living wage standards. The daily salary of Filipino workers must suffice to sustain the basic needs of their families,” the Ecumenical Institute for Labor Education and Research (EILER) argued.

The Ibon Foundation estimates that the living wage for a family of five individuals amounts to PhP 1,277 in March 2026. However, the national average of minimum wages stands at a meager amount of PhP 505.

“The argument by big businesses that living wages will push small businesses to the brink of bankruptcy is more imagined than real. Compensation expenses constitute a relatively small fraction of a business’ total expenses,” EILER explained.

If living wages are implemented, EILER calculates that compensation expenses will constitute only 13.8% of micro-enterprises’ total business expenses. Meanwhile, 14.4% for small enterprises, 10.9% for medium enterprises, and 18.7% for large enterprises. This computation is based on the 2022 Annual Survey of Philippine Business Industry and the prevailing living and nominal wages in the same year.

“More so, the government is capable of absorbing these additional expenses for micro businesses. Instead of losing billions of public funds to corruption, the government can subsidize micro enterprises in implementing living wages,” the institution argued.

According to EILER’s computation, the implementation of living wages would cost micro-enterprises around PhP 165 billion as additional expenses in a year. On the other hand, reports show that public funds lost to corruption range from hundreds of billions to even a trillion pesos annually.

“Minimum wage levels in the Philippines lag behind in the past two decades. Worse, it pales in comparison with the ever-increasing productivity of labor,” EILER added.

In 2000, labor productivity stood at PhP 963.84 per worker while real wage in NCR, the highest among all regions, was at PhP 476.71 only. By 2024, labor productivity rose to PhP 1,724.99 per worker while real wages in NCR stood at PhP 526.92. In 24 years, labor productivity of Filipino workers increased by 78.97% while real wages in the highest-paying region rose only by 10.53%.

“The ever-growing contribution of Filipino workers in the creation of national wealth pours only to the coffers of few super rich families and their conduit corporations,” the institution explained.

Forbes reported that in 2006, the 40 richest Filipinos recorded USD 16 billion as their net worth. In two decades, their net worth would balloon by 423%, equivalent to USD 83.6 billion.

“The prevailing neoliberal order where wage and price setting are dominated by big businesses, both foreign and local, while the government enacts policies aligned to profit-making deprives Filipino workers with living wages and decent working conditions. This order has failed Filipino workers for decades and must be abandoned altogether,” EILER concluded. #





Photo source: LiCAS.news

23/04/2026

STATEMENT | April 23, 2026

Despite Court Order, AMLC Keeps LCDE Assets Frozen

The National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) on Tuesday, 21 April 2026, electronically filed a Manifestation with Motion to Compel the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) to unfreeze the bank accounts of the Leyte Center for Development (LCDE) at the Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 28. This move follows a series of decisive legal setbacks for the government’s attempts to freeze the assets and prosecute the leadership of the veteran humanitarian organization.

The Defend NGOs Alliance personally submitted the documents at the RTC Branch 28 the following day, 22 April 2026. The Alliance urgently appeals the unfreezing of LCDE bank accounts. “The continued freezing of LCDE’s accounts has effectively paralyzed vital humanitarian and development projects in Eastern Visayas,” says Defend NGOs Alliance National Spokesperson and LCDE Executive Director Jazmin Jerusalem.

According to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Eastern Visayas consistently ranks as one of the poorest regions in the Philippines, with poverty incidence among families often exceeding 22%. LCDE serves at least 3,000 families, or approximately 17,000 individuals, every year with relief aid and early recovery programs. This represents thousands of vulnerable people who are directly deprived of support every year that the organization is forced to remain offline.

“By keeping these funds out of reach despite multiple court orders, the AMLC is not fighting terrorism, it is obstructing disaster relief and poverty alleviation in a region that needs it most. Every day these accounts remain frozen is a day that farmers, fisherfolk, and typhoon survivors are denied the support LCDE has provided for 38 years,” says Jerusalem.

The Alliance is sounding the alarm on the severe “ripple effect” of the AMLC’s continued freeze, which extends far beyond the organization:
• The personal bank accounts of LCDE staff and the families of the accused remain frozen, depriving individuals of their own personal savings for basic needs and survival.
• The freeze also ensnared the bank accounts of small local businesses in Leyte, suppliers who provided materials for LCDE’s community and disaster relief projects. These small enterprises now face financial ruin.

The motion comes after Manila RTC Branch 28 issued a series of rulings dismantling the civil forfeiture case against LCDE. On 20 February 2026, the court denied the AMLC’s request for an Asset Preservation Order (APO) and lifted the Provisional Asset Preservation Order (PAPO). On 18 March 2026, the same court denied the AMLC’s motion for reconsideration, effectively ruling that there is no legal basis to continue holding the NGO’s funds.

Furthermore, on 15 April 2026, the Tacloban RTC Branch 45 upheld the dismissal of three criminal cases against LCDE Executive Director Jazmin Jerusalem. The court denied the prosecution’s motion for reconsideration, affirming that the charges against the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act (TFPSA) were groundless due to the lack of required publication of terrorist designations.

Similar cases of terrorism financing also hound grassroots-based networks. The cases of Community Empowerment Resource Network (CERNET 27), Paghidaet sa Kauswagan Development Group (PDG), and Katinnulong Dagiti Umili Ti Amianan (KADUAMI) demonstrate a trend using the TFPSA to harass development organizations assisting farming and fishing communities.

The Defend NGOs Alliance calls for:
1. For the AMLC to respect the Manila RTC Branch 28 ruling and unfreeze LCDE’s accounts immediately.
2. An end to the weaponization of financial regulations against NGOs like CERNET, PDG, and KADUAMI.
3. For the Philippine government to acknowledge and support the critical contribution of NGOs to national development rather than treating them as enemies.

The courts have spoken repeatedly: the accusations are baseless. It is time to let the work of development continue without the threat of state-sponsored harassment. #

Read here: https://defendngoalliance.wixsite.com/defend-ngos-alliance/post/despite-court-order-amlc-keeps-lcde-assets-frozen

The National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) on Tuesday, 21 April 2026, electronically filed a Manifestation with Motion to Compel the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) to unfreeze the bank accounts of the Leyte Center for Development (LCDE) at the Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 28. ...

16/04/2026

ICYMI | Leyte Center for Development, Inc.'s (LCDe) pre-trial at the Manila Regional Trial Court, Branch 28, has been postponed due to the prosecution’s failure to prepare ahead of the hearing.

Meanwhile, the Tacloban Regional Trial Court, Branch 45, has denied the Motion for Reconsideration in the terrorism financing case. The Defend NGOs alliance welcomes the Tacloban court’s decision and sees this as further basis to dismiss the civil forfeiture case filed in relation to the terrorism financing allegations.

The fight against injustice continues as the civil forfeiture case remains pending. LCDe’s accounts, including personal accounts, also remain frozen despite the Manila RTC Branch 28 order lifting the Provisional Asset Preservation Order (PAPO).

16/04/2026

Members of the Defend NGOs Alliance take part in the social media rally to support Ms. Jazmin Jerusalem and Leyte Center for Development, Inc. (LCDe) who are being falsely accused with civil forfeiture by the Anti-Money Laundering Council. The pre-trial for their case is set to take place today, April 16, 2026.