Various Philippine non-government organizations decried “despicable acts” by elements of the Armed Forces of the Philippines aimed at maligning and harassing humanitarian organization Leyte Center for Development. On 21 September, 15 people staged a ‘protest action’ in front of the LCDe’s office in Palo, Leyte, claiming that the NGO is a terrorist organization and a supporter of the ‘CPP-NPA-NDF’.
Jazmin Aguisanda-Jerusalem, LCDe Executive Director, said the placards of the ‘protesters’ bore no name of their group and “they did not ask for a dialogue like rallyists usually do.” She said some of them disclosed that they were just forced to come, under threat.
“We know who is behind this,” said Ms. Aguisanda-Jerusalem. “The AFP is spreading all these fake news, red-tagging. Clearly this is an act to tarnish our image and a defamation against the LCDe… This is offensive, threatening, malicious and brazen lies!”
The handful of ‘protesters’ were transported by three military trucks from Carigara town, some 50 kilometers away. This follows the red-tagging campaign on social media and webinars being orchestrated by the 802nd Infantry Brigade of the AFP against the LCDe.
The Assert Socio-Economic Initiatives Network, a national network of more than 30 NGOs, came out and condemned “these despicable acts of the military which put the lives of LCDe personnel in danger. In the past, such red-tagging and related incidents result to extra-judicial killings.” ASSENT likened the AFP to the military of the Marcos years, as being “key instruments of state repression and human rights violations.”
They said the military is “showing its true colors”, by mounting a fake protest “to malign and put in dire straits a humanitarian and development organization with a solid track record of implementing disaster response and health programs.”
The Disaster Risk Reduction Net Philippines also decried the defamation of LCDe, saying, “… The administration of President Rodrigo Duterte is not only attacking the Philippine Red Cross. Its demolition job also involved a smaller humanitarian group that the military has been harassing for the past years.” The DRRNetPhils is a network of some 50 CSOs, academe and disaster risk reduction experts in the country.
LCDe has been providing humanitarian assistance to poor and marginalized communities in Eastern Visayas for 33 years. It was awarded the Gawad Kalasag Award in 2008 by the Office of Civil Defense under the Department of National Defense. In 2018, Ms. Aguisanda-Jerusalem was recognized as a Climate Heroine during the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Bonn, Germany.
Local municipal and village officials, including local community residents likewise express support for the LCDe, guaranteeing no untoward incidents would be allowed to happen.