Defend Southern Tagalog welcomes the Batangas City Regional Trial Court’s dismissal of the fabricated terrorism financing case against Alaiza Marie Lemita on December 26. The court ruled that the AFP failed to present any evidence to support its accusation against Lemita.

“The case’s dismissal proves that no crime took place from the start,” Defend Southern Tagalog spokesperson Charm Maranan said. The case was clearly pure persecution, she said. “Lies do not become truth even when submitted in court.”

The AFP accused Lemita of giving two sacks of cooked rice, pork adobo, and ₱50,000 to surviving NPA members on March 10, 2017 in Barangay Banilad, Nasugbu, Batangas. She is the sister of Chai Lemita-Evangelista, one of victims in the heinous “Bloody Sunday Massacre” operation in Southern Tagalog in 2021.

After the gruesome massacre, the Lemita family faced relentless threats, surveillance, harassment, and fabricated cases from the AFP for their pursuit of justice for Chai.

“Haven’t they taken enough from us? We already lost a daughter, a sister. As we mourn, instead of justice, they imposed another case on our family,” Rosenda Lemita, mother of Chai and Alaiza, said.

“How many more activists must suffer from fabricated cases before the state admits its abuse of power? Alaiza’s case was dismissed, but many remain detained under the same machinery of repression,” Maranan explained.

Defend Southern Tagalog calls for the immediate dismissal of all fabricated cases against activists and an end to red-tagging and political repression. The group also calls for genuine justice for all victims of human rights violations.