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Groups ask DOJ to drop bid for terror tag on IP leaders, human rights defenders


Over a hundred people's organizations from 43 countries have endorsed a letter asking the government to drop its bid to slap a terror tag on indigenous peoples' leaders and human rights defenders, local organizers said.

A "letter of concern on the increasing harassment and intimidation of indigenous peoples' leaders and human rights defenders in the Philippines" purportedly signed by over 7,000 individuals was filed before the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Tuesday.

The letter said dozens of IP leaders and human rights advocates have been included in the DOJ's petition for proscription, a court pleading that seeks a terror tag on the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the New People's Army.

It is this petition the groups want dismissed, in addition to their plea for the government to ensure the physical safety of indigenous populations' leaders and human rights defenders and to abide by state obligations to protect rights and freedoms including those to justice, expression, and association.

The petition is pending before a Manila regional trial court.

This list includes Victoria Tauli Corpuz, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, along with other leaders and members of formations that the letter said help advance human rights for "the most vulnerable and discriminated."

"The unfounded, malicious and irresponsible terrorist accusations pose serious threats to their lives, security, and liberty, and are obviously meant to harass and intimidate them," the letter said.

"It thereby constitutes a targeted measure to weaken the indigenous peoples' movement in the Philippines, and an unacceptable attack on those speaking up to defend human rights."

The letter was endorsed by over 200 organizations, as claimed by authors Pya Macliling Malayao, secretary general of pro-indigenous peoples alliance Katribu; Jill Cariño, convener of the Philippine Task Force for Indigenous Peoples; and Beverly Longid, global coordinator of the Indigenous Peoples Movement for Self-Determination and Liberation.

Sought for comment, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra, to whom it was addressed, said the DOJ will leave the "final determination" of the case to the court. —KBK, GMA News

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