Read this in The Manila Times digital edition.
BACOLOD CITY — Three individuals were separately arrested by composite teams of police and military intelligence operatives in Negros Occidental for allegedly helping finance terrorism in the region.
A report from the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office showed that the joint tracker teams of police and military intelligence operatives apprehended Federico Salvilla, Perla Pavillar and Dharyll Albanez by virtue of warrants of arrest on Thursday, Jan. 2.
Albañez of Barangay Tinongan, Isabela and Salvilla of Barangay Pag-ayon in Pulupandan are facing two counts of terrorism financing charges while Pavillar of Barangay Man-uling in Cauayan is facing three counts of the same raps.
The bail for each count is P200,000.
The three arrested suspects are being alleged by authorities to have been affiliated with the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) and its allied front organizations in Negros Island.
They are facing charges for the violation of RA 10168, or the Terrorism and Financing Prevention and Suppression Act.
Catalogo said that Albañez has already posted bail, while the two others remain in police custody.
Also charged with similar offenses but have yet to be arrested are Clarissa Ramos, alias Yesha Ramos, and Felipe Levy Gelle, with aliases of Ipe and Levy Bantayan.
In a statement, the Human Rights Advocates Negros (HRAN) condemned the arrest of calling the complaints against them as "trumped up charges."
HRAN claimed that Salvilla, Pavillar and Albanez are development workers of Paghidaet sa Kauswagan Development Group Inc., a civil society organization in Kabankalan City that helps marginalized sectors in southern Negros Occidental.
However, Col. Rainerio de Chavez, provincial police director of Negros Occidental, described the arrest of three suspects as a boost to the government anti terrorism campaign.
The terrorism financing charges were filed by the Department of Justice against the five individuals on Dec. 3, 2024 before the Iloilo Regional Trial Court Branch 31, which is the designated terrorism court in Western Visayas.
Human rights group Karapatan, meanwhile, claimed that more than 100 social activists were charged with anti-terrorism law and financing terrorism as well as freezing of funds and assets of civil society organizations and terror listing.
HRAN said it is now coordinating with families and lawyers for legal defense of those unjustly accused and persecuted.
"These cases underwent preliminary investigation before the Department of Justice. All parties were given an opportunity to be heard pursuant to the rules on preliminary investigation," according to Col. Gilbert Gorero, PRO 6 Regional Operations Division chief.
"This case is new for everyone. The purpose why we are doing the investigation and filing charges is to cut the source of funds," Gorero said, adding that non-government organizations (NGOs) are usually used as fronts.
HRAN accused the NTF Elcac (National Task Force Ending Local Communist Armed Conflict) as the brain behind what it calls absurd trumped up cases, using so -called "rebel returnee", who executed spurious and malicious sworn affidavits, with DOJ weaponizing laws against critics and activists.
Bayan Negros condemned the arrest of the three for what it called "unfounded and baseless charges."