Giovanni Gabuli, who chairs the environmental group Pundok Sagop Kalikopan (PSK) and works with the Bacay Fisherfolk Association (BAFA), has long advocated against harmful reclamation projects affecting local communities.

CEBU CITY — Environmental leader Giovanni Gabuli faced pressure to clear his name from the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict’s (NTF-ELCAC) alleged watchlist. 

On March 10 around 9:00 p.m., nine uniformed Philippine Navy personnel arrived in front of the house of the Gabuli family in barangay Tulay, Minglanilla. They were looking for Giovanni Gabuli, a fisherman and an environmental leader known for his advocacy against the reclamation or dump-and-fill cases in the Cebu province.

The Philippine Navy personnel were identified in a report by  Aninaw Productions as Xerxes Mercadal Tablate, Jeric Canta, Neil Bryan Lerma, and Kent Stephen Liwag.

In an interview with Bulatlat, Gabuli said that the WASAR (Water Search and Rescue) Training initiated by the Philippine Navy on March 7-8 led up to this incident.

“On March 7, the first day of the WASAR training, the session proceeded smoothly. However, in the early morning of March 8, a speaker introduced himself as a former NPA (New People’s Army) member who had surrendered. During his speech, he alleged that Anakpawis, Bayan Muna, KMP (Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas), and other partylists were affiliated with the NPA,” Gabuli told Bulatlat in Cebuano. “That seminar warned us not to be swayed by these leftist groups,” said Gabuli.

Seminar turned interrogation

Moments in between the second day of the WASAR Training, AFP agent Joy Dela Peña approached Gabuli. “Dela Peña brought me farther from the venue of the training and asked a lot of questions about myself, my family, my wife and where we work,” he said.

Dela Peña later called the head of the Philippine Navy Kent Stephen Liwag. “I was seated at a table and suddenly the members of the Philippine Navy and military were around me,” recalled Gabuli. Dela Peña asked him if he had attended any rallies.

“At this time, I confidently responded yes, I told Dela Peña that as an environmental leader, we have messages we want to tell to the government,” said Gabuli. “Dela Peña told me it’s okay to attend rallies as long as you’re not bringing a gun,” recalled Gabuli. In 2024, Dela Peña gave seminars where she tagged progressive groups, youth groups, and student organizations as recruiters of the NPA in Cebu.

Gabuli, who chairs the environmental group Pundok Sagop Kalikopan (PSK) and works with the Bacay Fisherfolk Association (BAFA), has long advocated against harmful reclamation projects affecting local communities, particularly in Bacay, where commercial housing developments are encroaching on the shoreline.

The Gabuli family was among the other families in Bacay who refused to leave the area amid threats. The family relies on fishing as their main source of income, apart from a small sari-sari (variety)  store.
In 2022, heightened reclamation projects in Cebu province prompted the creation of the Save Cebu Movement. Philippine Reclamation Authority records show there are 187 reclamation project applications nationwide. In a 2023 report by SunStar, the Save Cebu Movement estimated there were about 2,946 hectares of reclamation projects, including 100 hectares in Minglanilla that affected the Bacay community. Gabuli has been an active leader in support of the campaigns.

During the sudden conversation, Liwag abruptly mentioned that they were the ones who filed the case against Community Empowerment Resource Network, Inc. (CERNET). “He confronted me with this information because he knows that the Bacay community is one of the project partners of CERNET,” he said. 

“Liwag told me that my name as chairperson of PSK was among the watchlist of NTF-ELCAC,” Gabuli said. According to Gabuli, Liwag claimed that CERNET was supporting the NPA, claiming PSK was a victim of their operations through project partnerships. 

“Liwag further alleged that the budget allocation for our income generating projects is 40-60. Forty percent goes for our community and the other 60 percent is for the NPA to buy firearms,” Gabuli added.

Gabuli strongly denied these allegations.

CERNET is currently facing alleged terrorist financing charges. Since 2001, the consortium of humanitarian and development non-governmental organizations (NGOs) has supported marginalized communities across the Visayas by funding grassroots initiatives that promote economic, social, and cultural rights.

In the 2023 environmental documentary Panag-iya (Ownership), which highlights fill-and-dump projects in Minglanilla, particularly in the Bacay community, Justine Villarante, then executive director of CERNET, discussed the support the network has provided to the Bacay community. 

According to Villarante, supporting communities to develop their own income generating projects will allow them to circulate resources for their own community members. “Some of their projects include the development of their Tilapia fishpond, communal garden, and the selling of rice and home-made detergent soap,” Villarante said.

Fearing for lives

“With so many military and Navy personnel around that day, all I could feel was fear,” Gabuli recalled. After returning home from the WASAR training, he immediately told his wife, siblings, and parents about what had happened. “They were worried,” he said.

The Gabuli family decided to seek help from the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) – Central Visayas and progressive groups. Accompanied by his wife, he later went to the CHR office in Cebu City to file a report on March 10, 2025. In the afternoon that day, he received several texts from a certain Jack Rebenecia from the Philippine Navy. “Our head, Liwag, wants to speak with you,” Gabuli recalled the text message. Gabuli refused to meet with them without the CHR in the dialogue.

On that night, he was informed by his nephew that the Philippine Navy was already in their area. “My wife and I are on our way home, but after receiving this information, we stopped at the Tungkop bridge to decide whether we’re going home or not,” he said. They decided to return home but refused to speak with the Navy that evening, citing the late hour and absence of CHR presence.

Gabuli witnessed his mother couldn’t help but confront them. “What could he have done wrong that he needs to clear his name?,” his mother asked Liwag in Cebuano.

“He told my mother the same thing. That name was under the watchlist of NTF-ELCAC and Liwag is supposed to clear it,” Gabuli said. According to him, Liwag was tasked to prove that he’s not a member of the NPA. But to clear his name from the NTF-ELCAC watchlist, he must sign some documents, and his prior denial of the allegations was not enough.

Gabuli did not agree to signing any documents. “That night we were so afraid and we barely slept. What could possibly happen that night?,” said Gabuli.

The next day, Gabuli, with the help of the CHR, requested a dialogue with the Philippine Navy the following day. However, the Philippine Navy did not show up. According to Giovanni, Rebenecia told him they have an appointment with the mayor of Minglanilla. 

The CHR visited the residence of the Gabuli family to conduct an inspection and document that the Gabuli family did not possess any firearms, contrary to the military’s claims. CHR also connected to alert the barangay officials, especially the captain. “Since we reported it to CHR, barangay tanods has been roving around the area,” Gabuli added. 

“Even if it suddenly stopped, I still have fears,” said Gabuli. “I fear for my safety, my parents, and my other family members,” Gabuli said. (AMU,RVO)