Filipina clergy tells
UN of anti-terror law harassment
![Glofie Baluntong at the UNHRC's interactive dialogues](../../news_clips50/glofie-baluntong.jpg)
At
the UNHRC's interactive dialogues on the report of the
Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human
rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism
last Tuesday, March 12, Rev. Glofie Baluntong, former
Mindoro UMC District Superintendent, told the body of the
harassment she suffers under the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020
(ATA, Republic Act No. 11479). |
By
KARAPATAN
March 13, 2024
GENEVA, Switzerland – A
pastor of the United Methodist Church (UMC) in the Philippines
delivered an oral statement at the ongoing 55th session of the
United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in this city narrating
harassment against her by the Philippine government.
Rev. Baluntong said it all
started on June 17, 2019 when the Philippine National Police forces
barged into her church compound in Roxas, Oriental Mindoro without a
court-issued warrant, demanding that she present the members of
Karapatan Southern Tagalog whom she was hosting. She was then
accused of aiding alleged rebels, she added.
“Since then, I have
endured harassment, intrusive visits, and questioning by the Armed
Forces (of the Philippines),” she revealed.
Rev. Baluntong, also a
member of the National Council of Churches of the Philippines, also
told the international body that she was subsequently faced
attempted murder charges on August 18, 2021.
“[They cited] an armed
encounter that allegedly occurred on March 25 of that year – a day
on which I was conducting funeral rites for a departed church
member,” Baluntong told the UN.
“I was also wrongfully
charged with [violation of] the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, and
grave threats from state forces have forced me to flee my town,” she
added.
Baluntong said that on
behalf of the World Council of Churches, they call upon UN member
states, including the Philippines, to heed the recommendations of UN
Special Rapporteur on counter-terrorism and human rights Ben Saul to
ensure that counter-terrorism laws and practices, including efforts
to combat terrorism financing, respect human rights.
Baluntong said that
governments must make sure they do not curtail the legitimate
activities of civil society organizations, impede civic space, or
hinder humanitarian endeavours.
The clergy spoke at the
debates on the submission of Saul’s report on the misuse of
counter-terrorism measures and how these can infringe upon the
rights of suspected individuals and imperil the liberties of the
innocent.
“Saul’s report testifies
to my own lived experience,” Baluntong said.
Increasing number of cases
Human rights group
Karapatan, a member of the Philippine UPR (Universal Periodic
Review) delegation attending the ongoing UNHRC session here said at
least 91 individuals have been charged by the Philippine government
of violating the ATA and Republic Act No. 10168 or the law on the
prevention and suppression of terrorist financing. There are at
least 27 political prisoners charged under both laws, Karapatan
said.
“Charges under ATA against
three political prisoners had been dismissed, but they remain in
jail due to other trumped up criminal charges. Eight political
prisoners who were detained and faced charges under Republic Act No.
11479 had been released,” Karapatan legal counsel Atty. Ma. Sol
Taule said.
The constitutionality of
the Philippine Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 had been contested through
several petitions before the Supreme Court.