CPA hits red-tagging of 27 members by gov’t lawmen

BAGUIO CITY – The militant Cordillera Peoples Alliance denounced “intensified terrorist tagging and vilification of indigenous human rights defenders in the Cordillera Region,” reportedly by military and police officers. 

“In recent days, we learned of another wave of attacks to our officers and members no less the handiwork of this fascist regime,” said Bestang Dekdeken, CPA secretary general.

Flyers were reportedly seen in Lamut, Ifugao “bearing 27 names of individuals red-tagged or vilified.”

The list included members of CPA-Ifugao, advisory council member Beverly Longid who is also a former CPA chair, Abie Anongos of executive committee, Audrey Beltran of regional council and CPA pioneer Sarah Abellon, who also faced what they called “trumped-up charges.” 

“Days before, a certain Soledad Balocnit from Dupag, Kalinga wrote to the Taiwan Embassy in Manila vilifying the CPA and cultural activist Alma Sinumlag of the Dap-ayan ti Kultura iti Kordilyera (DKK), a member organization of the CPA,” Dekdeken said.  “CPA with the DKK and Cordillera Youth Center earlier hosted solidarity partners from Taiwan in a successful cultural exchange.”

Balocnit reportedly insinuated that “CPA and the DKK are terrorists with a terroristic agenda thus endangering the visitors from Taiwan. Upon verification with our chapter in Kalinga, no such person exists in Dupag Barangay. For one, the letter was not even signed or dated, only bearing an email address and a general address of Dupag, Tabuk, Kalinga. Anyone can create an email address. Alma was constantly harassed by military agents during the cultural exchange.”

Dekdeken said CPA officers were maliciously included in the Dept. of Justice  proscription petition alluding they were terrorists.

“Earlier, trumped-charges were filed against Cordillera women activists such that Rachel Mariano remains detained,” she added.

“For more than three decades, CPA served in the interest of Cordillera communities, for the defense of ancestral land and self-determination. Nothing is terroristic about this,” the statement said. “On the contrary, CPA is the victim of State terrorism with the historical imposition of State fascism and national oppression.  The Duterte regime is hell-bent on silencing its critics but CPA, with the rest of indigenous peoples in the country, will stand together to defy this and prove time and again that the real terrorist is the US-Duterte regime. 

We appeal to all kakailian to join us in calling for genuine peace for the Cordillera and the rest of country by calling for a stop to harassment, intimidation, vilification, EJKs of indigenous human rights defenders. Activism is not terrorism.”