The Cordillera’s People’s Alliance (CPA) and Cordillera Human Rights Alliance filed a Petition for Review on Certiorari with the Supreme Court on August 12 to review the Court of Appeals’ 10th Division’s dismissal in December 2023 of their previous petition questioning the basis of the government in freezing the CPA’s assets and bank accounts.

The Marcos regime and its agencies froze CPA assets and bank accounts due to the Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC)’s arbitrary designation of four CPA members and leaders as “terrorists” under the Anti-Terrorism Law (ATL) promulgated on July 10, 2023. The four members are Windel Bolinget, Sarah Abellon-Alikes, Jen Awingan, and Steve Tauli.

The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) imposed the “freeze order” on July 2023. The CPA said it affected the group’s operations and programs such as helping victims affected by natural disasters like typhoons. Bestang Dekdeken, general secretary of the CPA, said in a media interview that the freeze was arbitrary and unjust.

“We assert that calling the CPA leaders who only fight for the rights of the indigenous people in the Cordillera as terrorists is baseless,” he said in the interview.

The CPA and CHRA asked the Supreme Court in their 34-page petition to issue a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction against AMLC that would effectively nullify the freeze order. They also asked the court to set aside the decision of the Court of Appeals in December 2023.

The group also requested that the court schedule an oral argument regarding the case. They demanded that the court declare the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act of 2012 and the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 as unconstitutional. The CPA and CHRA responded to their petition with the AMLC and the ATC.

The CPA and various human rights groups said the ATC’s arbitrary labeling of progressive individuals and activists as terrorists is a major blow to democracy and is only used to suppress critics of the government.

“After more than a year, the CPA continues to push back against the impacts of the freezing and the designation,” the group said. The filing of the petition is only a part of the struggle, as the CPA, being a mass organization and people’s alliance, still remains and will remain at the forefront of our fight for land, life, honor, and resources.