The dismissal of terrorism financing charges against three Negrenses is a damning indictment of the state’s use of fabricated cases, red-tagging, and terrorist-tagging to attack development workers, Bayan Muna said on Friday, March 21.
A court in Iloilo City dismissed terrorism financing charges against Federico Salvilla, Perla Pavillar, and Dharyl Albañez of the Paghidaet sa Kauswagan Development Inc. on March 14, it said.
The charges were dismissed for lack of jurisdiction and failure to constitute an offense.
They were accused of financing terrorism based on complaints filed by the Department of Justice on Dec. 3, 2024.
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, Bayan Negros 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.*