CPA chair seeks removal of name from terrorist list

Cordillera Peoples Alliance chairperson Windel Bolinget, accompanied by his lawyer Atty. Jose Molintas, attended Sept. 21 a hearing at the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 19 on the motion Bolinget filed last August 31 seeking removal of his name from the Dept. of Justice’s terrorist list and dismissal of the DOJ petition describing the Communist Party of the Philippines and New People’s Army  as terrorist organizations.

“We hope the court will immediately act favorably on the motion and dismiss the entire petition of the Dept. of Justice,” Bolinget said. “We reiterate that the DOJ petition is baseless, malicious, and puts at risk the safety and security of the names listed therein. We do not deserve to be criminalized and politically vilified when all we do is protect our rights as indigenous peoples, human rights, fundamental freedoms and the country’s democracy.”

Dept. of Justice’s Senior Assistant State Prosecutor, Peter Ong, was present during the hearing.

The DOJ was given two weeks to respond to the motion Bolinget filed along with previous motions filed by his colleagues Joanna Patricia Cariño, Jeannette Ribaya-Cawiding, Joan Carling, Beverly Longid who were also tagged as members of a terrorist organization.

After this, the court will come out with decisions on the motions,” Bolinget said.

Earlier statements released by the CPA and various groups stated that the DOJ proscription list was a clear attack on the CPA by naming seven previous and present leaders of the organization as terrorists .

“It (DOJ list) intends to quell legitimate dissent and threaten indigenous human rights defenders in the region and across the country that staunchly assert their right to self-determination, defend their ancestral lands and the environment.”

For nearly four decades, he said, the CPA has been in the forefront of the Cordillera peoples’ struggle since the dark years of martial law under the Marcos dictatorship.

“The DOJ petition, various trumped-up charges filed by the Armed Forces of the Philippines against indigenous human rights defenders and activists, militarization of Cordillera communities and human rights violations, coupled with various applications for mining, dams and other energy projects clearly show that we are currently under a de facto martial law. Our ancestral lands are under attack and the people who have the courage to stand up are being criminalized, tagged as terrorists and politically vilified,” said Bolinget.

The hearing coincided with the commemoration of Martial Law.

 “The Cordillera people will resist Duterte’s dictatorship, as we did during the Martial Law years,” Bolinget said. “We enjoin concerned citizens to be vigilant and continue to defend the people from any form of human rights violations and oppression. Never again to martial law”