Abra court quashes rebellion charge against community journalist, six others

BAGUIO CITY — The Abra Regional Trial Court on Thursday, May 11 granted the motion to quash rebellion charges that the military filed against a community journalist and six other activists and development workers in the Cordillera and Ilocos regions.

“… Jennifer Awingan, Sarah Abellon-Alikes, Stephen Tauli, Windel Bolinget, Lucia Lourdes Gimenes, Nino Joseph Oconer, and Florence Kang were NEVER identified…. (and) hereby EXCLUDED from the information for lack of probable cause,” Judge Corpuz Alzate of the Bangued RTC Branch 2 said in his decision.

He also ordered the quashing of all warrants issued against the seven petitioners.

Oconer is the Ilocos Correspondent of Northern Dispatch. Bolingert, Tauli, and Awingan are leaders of the Cordillera Peoples Alliance. Abellon-Alikes and Kang are development workers, and Gimenez is a peasant rights activist.

The CPA  and Nodis welcomed the decision and thanked those who supported the campaign.

“The case of rebellion/insurrection against us is baseless and fabricated…. I hope this will be the last of trumped-up charges against me, my colleagues, and all activists,” said CPA chair Windel Bolinget.

“However, trumped-up charges are not matters we can just brush off when dropped/junked. Justice and accountability should still prevail, else state forces will just pile charges upon charges against activists,” he added.

Nordis said charges filed against activists prove the government’s desperation “to silence dissent” and “criminalize activism and critical reporting”.

“This is the Nth time the court unraveled the lies and deceit of state security forces,” the outfit said.

“As we continue to call to stop the attacks, we also savor this win for press freedom, this triumph for activists. Today’s victory proves that no matter how hard, the truth shall always prevail against those who weave lies,” Nordis added.

Flawed claims

The 24th Infantry Battalion implicated them in the October 2022 ambush by New People’s Army guerrillas in Malibcong, Abra, that resulted in the death of two soldiers.

The judge said the two survivors from the attack did not identify the seven individuals. They only named Jovencio Tangbawan and Dalcedo Dumayon as perpetrators, he pointed out.

His decision also noted that the seven petitioners were added on the information just on basis of the claim that they are leaders of the guerrilla unit linked to the two other suspects.

Police arrested Awingan last January 30 in her home in Baguio City. She posted bail on February 12, followed by the six individuals on February 20.

The respondents experienced red-tagging and harassment from state security forces before filing the case.

Several of them have also faced charges filed by the police and military in the past, which the courts eventually dismissed.

Human rights lawyer and co-counsel for the accused Rene Cortes urged the government to focus its effort on curbing the rampant corruption and abuses instead of wasting resources in filing bogus cases against activists.

Cortes is confident that the court will deny any appeal from the prosecution because “there is not even a strand of evidence to link” the activists to encounter.

Meanwhile, human rights group Karapatan said the case should not have reached the court.

“In the first place, such cases should not have been filed and given course because these are baseless and fabricated cases meant to persecute the defenders,” said Karapatan Secretary General Cristina Palabay.

– Rappler.com