FIGHTING BACK Activists Sarah Abellon-Alikes, Jennifer Awingan-Taggaoa, Windel Bolinget and Stephen Tauli display posters in front of the Baguio Hall of Justice on Aug. 16 shortly before the start of the hearing of the case they filed before a local court against the Anti-Terrorism Council for designating them as terrorists without due process. —VINCENT CABREZA
BAGUIO CITY, Philippines — A court here dismissed one of the first legal challenges to the terrorist tag imposed by the Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC) involving local activists, who were given that designation in 2023, arguably without due process.
Windel Bolinget, chair of the Baguio-based militant group Cordillera People’s Alliance (CPA), and its members Sarah Abellon-Alikes, Jennifer Awingan-Taggaoa, and Stephen Tauli are scheduled to appeal the April 30 decision rendered by Baguio Regional Trial Court (RTC) Judge Hilarion Belmes of Branch 78 today.
Article continues after this advertisement
The activists contested their terrorist labels, which the ATC enforced through Resolution No. 41 (issued on June 4, 2023) for recruiting for, and providing material support to, communist rebels. The activists said they learned about Resolution 41 only on July 10, 2023, when their families’ bank accounts, as well as the accounts of CPA, were suddenly frozen by the government.FEATURED STORIES
