Three development workers in Negros Occidental are planning to file countercharges over wrongful prosecution following the dismissal of terrorism financing charges filed against them.
In a radio interview, legal counsel Rey Gorgonio said his clients — Federico Salvilla, Perla Pavillar and Dharyl Albañez — will take legal action against those who filed baseless charges, fabricated testimonies and conducted investigations.
Gorgonio said the three will file perjury charges against a rebel surrenderee who allegedly gave false testimony to implicate his clients.
The legal counsel said they will also charge government agents with grave misconduct, including officers of the Department of Justice (DOJ), who proceeded with the case despite knowing that a previous court ruling indicated that the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (NPA) is not legally designated as a terrorist organization in the Philippines.
Gorgonio said his clients persistently fought the accusations despite securing bail until the dismissal of their charges by the Regional Trial Court Branch 31 in Iloilo City on March 14.
The court, in its recent decision, ruled that terrorism financing cases “do not charge an offense,” and that it “lacks jurisdiction over the case.”
It granted the petition to quash and dismissed the charges.
Meanwhile, Gorgonio criticized the wrongful actions that led to his clients’ detention.
He pointed out that the case relied on an unconstitutional provision of Republic Act No. 10168, which classified “designated persons” as terrorists, based on foreign entities’ designations.
The recent ruling of the court establishes a crucial legal precedent for the three development workers and community organizations facing terrorism financing accusations, he added.
On December 3, 2024, Salvilla, Pavillar and Albañez of the Paghidaet sa Kauswagan Development Inc., from Negros Occidental’s Kabankalan City, were accused of financing terrorism, based on complaints filed by the DOJ.
Albañez was first arrested in La Carlota City, followed by Pavillar in Cauayan town, and Salvilla in Pulupandan town in January of this year.
The three were among the five individuals charged by the DOJ in violation of Section 8 of Republic Act 10168, or the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act of 2012, before the Regional Trial Court Branch 31.
Both Albañez and Salvilla were charged with two counts, while Pavillar was charged with three counts, with a bail of P200,000 for each count.
Furthermore, Bayan Negros, in its statement, said the dismissal of terrorism financing charges against the three Negrenses “is a damning indictment of the state’s use of fabricated cases, red-tagging and terrorist-tagging to attack development workers.”
“This ruling proves what we have long asserted: These charges were baseless, politically motivated and designed to dismantle movements fighting for genuine agrarian reform and the democratic rights of the people,” it said in a press release.
“The dismissal of these charges proves the so-called ‘war on terror’ is nothing more than a pretext to harass, detain and criminalize those who serve the marginalized,” it added. / With reports from PNA / WDJ