MANILA – Farmers and rights groups denounced the filing of terrorism financing charges against six Cagayan Valley activists, which they said further establishes a pattern of persecution using the law.

Charged last January 10 were Jackie Valencia, former Karapatan National Council member; Isabelo Adviento, former regional coordinator and former nominee of Anakpawis Partylist; Cita Managuelod, Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP)-Isabela coordinator; Agnes Mesina, Makabayan-Cagayan Valley regional coordinator; Walter Villegas, Kabataan Partylist Regional Coordinator; and Deo Montesclaros, environmental activist and journalist.

“This is a clear-cut case of political persecution meant to instill fear among people’s organizations and grassroots movements,” said Ronnie Manalo, spokesperson of Tanggol Magsasaka and secretary general of the KMP.

Former Anakpawis Partylist Representative Ariel Casilao said, “These charges are not isolated legal actions but legal weapons wielded to dismantle grassroots resistance and electoral opposition.”

“The people’s right to organize and speak truth is under attack,” he said. 

At least 166 individuals have been charged or designated as “terrorists” under the ATA and TFPSA, the group said in a press conference on Monday.

Moreover, 17 NGOs—most of them focused on development and humanitarian work—have had their bank accounts frozen under the same laws.

“This is state repression in full swing,” Casilao said.

“Isabelo Adviento, Cita Managuelod and the others are not terrorists—they are peasant leaders, community organizers, and youth advocates. Their acts of of serving the people cannot be misconstrued as crime,” the former lawmaker added.

Three of the six accused hold leading roles in Makabayan and progressive partylists the groups said make them particular targets of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC)—especially in the run-up to the 2025 midterm elections, the groups said.

Persistent attacks

In 2024, Mesina and Villegas were also charged with illegal possession of firearms and explosives—non-bailable charges widely believed to be fabricated.

Arrest warrants have reportedly been issued against them, while Mesina faces additional charges under Republic Act No. 11479 or the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) of 2020.

Adviento, acquitted in April 2024 of similar trumped-up charges, is once again being targeted.

The groups also condemned the ongoing red-tagging and vilification campaign against Makabayan senatorial candidates and progressive partylist groups across Cagayan Valley provinces, calling it part of a broader, fascist scheme to discredit and disable opposition voices during the electoral season.

In the past weeks, materials vilifying Gabriela Partylist and Makabayan senatorial bets were distributed in Isabela and Cagayan communities.

On Easter Sunday, Karapatan Cagayan Valley announced that a member of Kabataan partylist had been arrested by elements of the 5^th Infantry Division of the Philippines in Brgy. Dicamay Dos while campaigning with an Agta companion.

University of the Philippines-Manila alumna Andy Magno remains missing as of Monday, the group said.

“We call on the courts to pierce through the NTF-ELCAC’s web of lies and junk these bogus charges. We also urge all freedom-loving Filipinos to rise against tyranny disguised as counterterrorism and defend our shrinking democratic spaces,” KMP and Tanggol Magsasaka said. (RVO)