Anti-Terrorism Act repeal sought as 256 victimized in 6 years

MANILA, Philippines — Human rights group Karapatan said that the Anti-Terrorism Act, which was signed into law exactly six years ago on Friday, July 3, has victimized 256 individuals over the years of its implementation. Karapatan and other progressive groups called on the government anew to repeal the law during a protest in front of the Department of Justice on Friday. They also demanded that the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act of 2012, which is a separate measure that criminalizes the provision of funds or support to “terrorist organizations,” be junked. The groups said the government “weaponizes these twin laws” to target and silence critics and ordinary citizens. The Anti-Terrorism Act was signed into law in 2020 by former president Rodrigo Duterte, who is now detained in the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands for alleged crimes against humanity of murder cases. Karapatan claimed they recorded a total of 222 individuals who were falsely charged with violations of Anti-Terrorism Act or Terrorism Financing Act, in which 25 of them are currently detained. The Anti-Terrorism Council, meanwhile, designated 37 individuals as terrorists. Two of them, peasant organizer Norman Ortiz and his friend Lee Sudarion, were desaparecidos or victims of enforced disappearance. “Instead of addressing the roots of social unrest, the government has chosen to expand the machinery of repression through laws that criminalize those who organize, speak out, and defend the people's rights,” Karapatan’s statement read. The group also noted the cases of community journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio and lay worker Marielle Domequil, who they said were falsely convicted of violations of anti-terror laws. Cumpio and Domequil were two of the five activists who were arrested in February 2020 collectively known as Tacloban 5. They were convicted of terrorism financing in January before a Tacloban Court, and were allegedly linked to communist armed groups. They are currently facing 12 years and five months to 18 years and eight months of imprisonment. Their terrorism financing case stemmed from the P557,360-funds that the authorities recovered during their arrest. State forces alleged that the two served as the finance officers of the Eastern Visayas Regional Party Committee (EVRPC), the regional arm of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) in Eastern Visayas, and that the funds seized from them would be provided to armed group New People’s Army. However, the Court of Appeals had already ruled out the accusations against Cumpio and Domequil in October 2025, saying there was no factual and legal basis to confiscate the funds. The court also said authorities have “no proof” that the two were involved in any suspicious activity involving money. Cumpio and Domequil were also missing in any list designating them as terrorists. Before their arrest, Cumpio served as executive director of the alternative news outlet Eastern Vista under the Altermidya Network, while Marielle Domequ