Regional parliamentarians urge end to judicial harassment against the Philippine opposition

As recently charged opposition members today appear before state prosecutors, Southeast Asian lawmakers call for all politically motivated charges against parliamentarians to be immediately dropped and for the Philippine authorities to end their judicial harassment of the opposition.

On 18 July, the Philippine police filed a case with the Department of Justice against more than thirty opposition members, priests, and lawyers, including APHR Members Senator Leila de Lima and Senator Risa Hontiveros. All are currently being investigated for a series of criminal charges including sedition, inciting to sedition, cyber libel, libel, estafa, harboring a criminal and obstruction of justice. Today, opposition members named in the case will appear before a panel of state prosecutors to present counter-affidavits and refute the allegations made against them. 

“The Philippine authorities have launched a campaign against its opposition, with judicial harassment as its main weapon. This case is entirely baseless, and part of a systematic attack by the Duterte administration on free speech and democracy. It is just another intimidation tactic used to silence criticism,” said Charles Santiago, APHR Chairperson and Malaysian Member of Parliament (MP). 

The Philippine National Police claims that a viral, anonymously posted anti-Duterte “Bikoy” video was being used to spread false information on social media to “agitate the general population into making mass protest,” and to de-seat Duterte from his role as President. The video alleges that Duterte and his family are involved in the illegal drug trade. 

This case is not isolated but is part of a series of attacks against opposition lawmakers. On 1 August, current and former lawmakers, and members of the youth group Anakbayan, were charged in yet another politically fabricated case over the alleged recruiting and kidnapping of a student. Two APHR Members, Philippine lawmaker Sarah Elago and former MP Tom Villarin, were charged for kidnapping and violations of the laws on Anti-Trafficking in Persons, the Protection of Children against Child Abuse, Exploitation, and Discrimination, and on Crimes against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide and other Crimes Against Humanity. However, Alicia Lucena, the student, denied that she was abducted, and the subpoena incorrectly identified Tom Villarin as an Anakbayan representative.

These two recent cases are part of a pattern of charges filed against opposition members to silence criticism against the administration and the global outcry over thousands of extrajudicial killings in the Philippines since President Duterte took office in 2016. The most well-known symbol of these efforts is the ongoing detention of Senator Leila de Lima for more than two years after she launched investigations into the extrajudicial killings.  

In a report released in June, “In the Crosshairs of the Presidency,” APHR highlighted the broader attacks on MPs in the Philippines, which include MPs Frances Castro, Antonio Tinio, Ariel Casilao, Carlos Zarate and APHR Board Member Teodoro “Teddy” Baguilat. At least eight APHR members from the Philippines, all members of the opposition, are currently facing charges.

“The Philippine authorities are instilling a climate of fear among lawmakers. Self-censorship in the Congress is hindering the MPs’ ability to effectively speak on behalf of the people they represent,” said Kasit Piromya, APHR Board Member and former Thai MP. “The Philippine authorities must end the absurd judicial harassment of opposition MPs immediately.”

The harassment against Philippine opposition members follows a disturbing regional trend in Southeast Asia where authoritarian governments use their judicial systems to silence dissent and undermine opposition lawmakers. In Cambodia, APHR has documented the ongoing judicial harassment of current and former members of the opposition party, the Cambodia National Rescue Party, which Hun Sen’s administration dissolved two years ago. Also in Thailand, opposition MPs are facing multiple legal threats and charges, raising fears that the opposition party, the Future Forward Party, might be disbanded as well.

“Stifling political debate erodes the checks and balances on the executive and seriously threatens the democratic foundations of a political system. ASEAN governments should adhere to their stated commitment to democracy, good governance and the rule of law as outlined in the ASEAN Charter,” said Mu Sochua, Cambodian MP and APHR Board Member.