The Klima Center has strongly denounced the continued red-tagging campaign and harassment against the leaders and members of the Cordillera Peoples Alliance.
In a statement, human rights lawyer Dean Tony La Viña said his clients, Windel Bolinget, Stephen Tauli, Jennifer Awingan, and Sarah Alikes, have been subjected to relentless vilification and intimidation tactics.
La Viña, with other Klima Center lawyers, is part of the legal team providing service for the four individuals in their petition questioning the terrorist designation by the Anti-Terrorism Council.
“We call on the state forces to cease these acts and respect the rights of the Petitioners. These attacks directly violate the Petitioners’ rights and put them in great danger,” he said.
The latest of these harassments occurred during the March 8 proceedings for the Petition for Certiorari and Writ of Preliminary Injunction filed by the petitioners.
The petitioners and their supporters caught individuals distributing flyers containing derogatory content about the CPA at Baguio Justice Hall.
They identified themselves as members of the Nagkakaisang Samahan para sa Kapayapaan at Kaunlaran. The perpetrators claimed the flyers came from the National Task Force Against Local Communist Armed Conflict and that they were instructed to distribute them for a P500 daily pay.
The petitioners’ group also observed a man taking videos as they exited the building, prompting one of them to confront him. The individual attempted to flee but was apprehended and identified as a military member of the Civil Relations Service.
Similar incidents occurred during previous hearings, including an instance where an unfamiliar individual claimed to be delivering a message to one of the petitioners and another where a police officer was found recording videos and taking photos while armed.
Bolinget said the incidents underscored the security threats they faced, making it urgent for the court to consider their plea for the injunction of the ATC resolution.
This article was first published by the Northern Dispatch
