Activists, Journalist Face Terrorism Charges in Cagayan Valley

By Juliane Judilla

Five activists, including a community journalist based in Cagayan Valley, have been charged with terrorism financing following the visit of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to the Philippines from Jan. 21 to 25, 2025.

The accused include peasant activists Isabelo Adviento and Cita Managuelod, Karapatan human rights worker Jackie Valencia, Makabayan-Cagayan Valley coordinator Agnes Mesina, and community journalist Deo Montesclaros.

In a subpoena issued on Jan. 10, 2025, by the Cagayan Provincial Prosecutor and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group of the Philippine National Police, the five were accused of supplying provisions to armed revolutionary groups in 2018. However, no sufficient evidence has been presented to support the allegations.

Rights group Karapatan denounced the charges, noting an increase in similar cases ahead of the FATF’s visit. The FATF, a global organization that sets international standards to combat money laundering and terrorism financing, met with Philippine government officials from Jan. 20 to 21, 2025.

The group also pointed out that arrest warrants had been issued against several development organizations before the visit. Among them are the Paghidaet sa Kauswagan Development Group in Negros, the Cebu-based Community Empowerment Resource Network, the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines, and the Leyte Center for Development.

“The Marcos Jr. regime has been accusing activists left and right of financing terrorism in its attempt to remove the Philippines from the FATF’s ‘gray list’ of governments deemed deficient in combating money laundering and terrorism financing,” Karapatan Secretary-General Cristina Palabay said.

“Those accused have had their assets frozen and been subjected to civil forfeiture proceedings, derailing projects intended to alleviate the suffering of poor and marginalized communities,” she added.

Meanwhile, the media outlet Pinoy Weekly condemned the charges against Montesclaros, a multimedia journalist for the publication. The organization described the accusations as part of the government’s persistent red-tagging campaign to silence dissent.

“With its seemingly boundless resources, the government is trying to gag free speech whenever anything remotely critical is said or published. From non-governmental organizations to people’s organizations and journalists, terrorism financing charges are the latest red-tagging trend intended to paralyze individuals and organizations,” the publication said in a statement.

Montesclaros has worked with Pinoy Weekly since 2021 and has been a correspondent for the Baguio-based alternative news site Northern Dispatch since 2017.