MANILA — Liberal Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima has filed resolutions calling for a congressional inquiry into the implementation of anti-terrorism laws, citing concerns that these measures are being misused against democratic dissent and lawful civic engagement.

In a report, De Lima, a former Justice secretary, condemned the continued detention of Frenchie Mae Cumpio and lay worker Marielle Domequil, calling for oversight to ensure anti-terror and terrorist financing laws are not applied to silence legitimate dissent.

Cumpio and Domequil were convicted last month by a Tacloban court for terrorist financing under the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act of 2012, receiving sentences of 12 to 18 years in prison. Authorities said the two allegedly supplied P100,000 in cash and ammunition to members of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) in Catbalogan City in March 2019.

“We strongly condemn Cumpio and Domequil’s continued unjust detention and the relentless weaponization of counterterrorism and counter-terrorism financing laws to silence dissent. The denial of bail of community journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio and of lay worker Marielle Domequil is a serious setback in the fight for press freedom, a major blow to civil liberties in our country,” De Lima said.

She noted a Manila court ruling in September 2022 that the CPP-NPA is not a terrorist organization, despite former President Rodrigo Duterte’s 2017 proclamation designating it as such.

De Lima filed House Resolution Nos. 786 and 787, highlighting numerous instances where the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) and the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act may have been applied against journalists, human rights defenders, political activists, and civil society organizations.

“In light of the highly questionable charges against them, and the many reported cases of human rights defenders, political activists, and other dissenters being unjustly accused, indicted, or charged under the Anti-Terrorism Act and the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act, we have filed House Resolution Nos. 786 and 787 calling for a congressional inquiry into the implementation of these laws,” she said.

The inquiry, according to De Lima, will examine:

• The extent to which the ATA complies with constitutional guarantees of due process, freedom of speech, expression, association, peaceful assembly, and privacy;
• The powers of the Anti-Terrorism Council, including designation processes, coordination with law enforcement, and judicial review mechanisms;
• Use of surveillance authorities under the law and adequacy of oversight to prevent abuse;
• Impacts on journalists, civil society organizations, indigenous peoples, labor leaders, youth activists, and humanitarian workers;
• Existing safeguards against misuse or unconstitutional application of the laws.

De Lima also flagged a rise in terrorism financing cases, citing the filing of charges against about 24 community activists in Cebu in May 2024, and police charges against three officials of a humanitarian group in northern Philippines in October 2024.

She highlighted the Anti-Money Laundering Council’s (AMLC) ex parte freeze orders on the Leyte Center for Development, Inc. (LCDe), its executive director, and staff, alleging terrorism financing. Similar measures were taken against other civil society organizations, including the Cordillera People’s Alliance (CPA), Community Empowerment Resource Network (CERNET) Inc., and Paghida-et sa Kauswagan Development Group (PDG).

“The abrupt freezing of the foregoing accounts led to the immobilization of organizational funds and, in certain instances, even the personal bank accounts of officers and staff, effectively suspending ongoing humanitarian and development initiatives, restricting access to essential financial resources, and giving rise to serious issues regarding the sufficiency of the evidentiary basis for such measures, the issuance of ex parte freeze orders without prior notice or hearing, and the broader implications of these actions on lawful civic and humanitarian activities,” she said.

De Lima stressed that aggressive application of terrorism-financing measures against lawful dissenters and development workers diverts attention from actual illicit financial threats. “It is therefore incumbent upon Congress to ensure that efforts to combat money laundering and terrorism financing are directed at genuine illicit financial threats, while avoiding the misuse or weaponization of counter-terrorism financing laws against lawful civic engagement, humanitarian action, and democratic dissent,” she added.