MANILA, Philippines — Philippine authorities are “filing baseless terrorism-financing charges” against civil groups and activists to facilitate the country’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) “grey list,” a human rights group said on Thursday.
According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), the FATF is an international group that monitors how countries prevent terrorism financing and money laundering crimes.
But the HRW claimed that instead of targeting actual terrorism financing, local authorities are misusing the law to crack down on activists and nonprofit organizations.
“Philippine authorities have been exploiting the organization’s grey listing to harass organizations and activists in a surge of terrorism financing cases,” it said in a statement on Thursday.
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The HRW expressed that many cases involve activists, humanitarian workers, and civil society groups accused of supporting communist rebels.
It then pointed to recent terrorism-financing charges against humanitarian groups, including the Community Empowerment and Resource Network (Cernet), Kaduami, and the Paghidaet sa Kauswagan Development Group (PDG).
“In January, police arrested two community workers from Paghidaet sa Kauswagan Development Group (PDG) in the Negros region in the central Philippines on terrorism financing charges,” the HRW narrated.
“Amnesty International reported that the charges were based on the testimony of one witness, a former Communist Party member,” it added.
The HRW further claimed that Philippine authorities often rely on testimonies from purported former rebels, describing them as “flimsy evidence” long used in politically motivated prosecutions against leftist human rights defenders, environmental and indigenous activists, religious workers, and even journalists.
The human rights group also said “successive Philippine administrations” have used red-tagging, or labeling individuals as communist insurgents or sympathizers, as part of counter-insurgency efforts.
“Individuals recently charged with terrorism financing told Human Rights Watch that the authorities had previously subjected them to red-tagging, surveillance, and online harassment,” the rights group stated.
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These practices, the HRW said, violate fundamental rights and place individuals and groups at risk of physical harm.
With this, the human rights group urged the Philippine government to stop weaponizing terrorism laws against activists and nonprofit organizations.
“Filing baseless terrorism financing charges and freezing assets have disrupted legitimate activities of civil society groups,” the HRW said.
To be removed from the FATF grey list, the HRW also suggested that the Philippine government should implement key reforms.
This includes demonstrating an increase in legitimate terrorism financing cases while ensuring that nonprofit organizations are not unfairly targeted.
“Among the eight areas for reform are demonstrating an increase in terrorism financing cases and taking appropriate measures regarding nonprofits without harming legitimate activity,” the HRW said.
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The FATF’s grey list includes countries under “increased monitoring” for terrorism financing and money laundering.
According to the HRW, the Philippines was placed under the grey list in 2021 for deficiencies in its money laundering and terrorism financing measures.
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It also cited a 2019 Asia/Pacific Group report stating that Philippine authorities had yet to prosecute anyone for terrorism financing.
The HRW said these circumstances are all amid the 2012 law that prohibits and penalizes terrorism financing, or the Terrorism Financing and Prevention and Suppression Act.