“Without an operative and legally effective designation at the time of the alleged acts, an essential element of the crime is wanting.”

MANILA – Welcoming the dismissal of three counts of terrorism financing violation against Leyte Center for Development and Empowerment (LCDE) Executive Director Jazmin Jerusalem, the Defend NGOs Alliance Visayas called for the immediate release of the group’s funds.

“Despite the court’s ruling, the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) continues to hold the funds of the LCDE,” the alliance said. “These frozen resources directly affect programs intended for marginalized communities that rely on development and humanitarian support.”

The Tacloban Regional Trial Court Branch 45 dismissed the case with prejudice. This means that the prosecution is prevented from seeking a review of the dismissal and from filing more financing terrorism charges based on the same set of facts.

Read: Terrorism financing cases vs. Tacloban NGO leader dismissed

“Without an operative and legally effective designation at the time of the alleged acts, an essential element of the crime is wanting,” Judge Georgina Uy Perez wrote, stressing that Jerusalem was accused of crimes during the time when there is no official terrorist designation of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and the New People’s Army (NPA). Jerusalem was accused of providing material assistance to the CPP and NPA on March 15, 2013, December 23, 2014, and June 5, 2016.

Ephraim Cortez, president of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers which handles Jerusalem’s case, told Bulatlat that the recent dismissal proved that the charges were fabricated.

“Terrorism and terrorism financing laws are being used against human rights defenders and their organizations,” Cortez said. “This is lawfare and its purpose is to paralyze the operations of organizations like LCDE that provide services to sectors and communities in the isolated areas.”

A 2025 study by NUPL and the Council for People’s Development and Governance showed that the Philippine government uses the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)’s compliance frameworks to justify lawfare against the civil society and human rights defenders.

The report revealed that 33 percent of their respondent-organizations were accused of terrorism financing without basis, 62 percent experienced red-tagging, and 57 percent reported physical surveillance.

When the terrorism financing charges against organizations increased, the Philippines was removed from the FATF’s greylist which refers to countries under increased monitoring for money laundering and terrorist financing.

None of the 105 members of the Defend NGO Alliance were consulted last year when the FATF conducted an onsite review.

“By allowing the Philippine government to use symbolic metrics like prosecution quotas, FATF enables the weaponization of its framework against civil society while neglecting systemic financial crimes. If anything, this selective enforcement tarnishes FATF’s credibility as a guardian of financial integrity,” the alliance said last year.

The Regional Trial Court Branch 128 dismissed the civil forfeiture case against Jerusalem on February 20, 2026. The decision was due to the petitioners’ failure to link the questioned bank accounts and transactions to unlawful activity. However, the funds are still withheld by the AMLC.

“The court denied the application for asset preservation order of the AMLC. It means that there is no ground to hold the assets of the LCDE,” Cortez said.

“This is a victory for the right to freedom of association and ultimately freedom of expression. It is also a victory for marginalized communities’ right to development and for democracy in the country,” Center for Trade Union and Human Rights Executive Director Kamz Deligente said.

The Defend NGO Alliance Visayas said that there are more civil society organizations across Visayas that face harassment through the counterterrorism laws.

“For all of President Marcos Jr’s pretensions of being different from his predecessor, Duterte-type and Duterte-era attacks against civil society, people’s organizations and people power continue under his watch.He should take immediate and resolute actions to stop these,” Deligente added. (DAA, RVO)

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