Lawyers from the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) condemned the state for its campaign of repression against activists and development workers in its bid to remove the Philippines from the “grey list” or countries where money laundering and “terrorism financing are rampant.”

“In a disturbing pattern, the DOJ has been filing baseless cases of terrorism financing charges against individuals and organizations without credible evidence,” the NUPL said. “This is brazen attempt to inflate prosecution statistics to meet arbitrary quotas–in time for the reported ongoing verification by the FATF of the government’s complying with FATF standards.”

This was exemplified by the case of two Southern Tagalog activists who were charged with “terror financing” for providing food and some money to political prisoners. State forces used intimidation and pressure, similar to the case against Paghidaet sa Kauswagan Development Group (PDG) in Negros. The NTF-Elcac intimidated and threatened a “witness” with charges unless he testify against the PDG.

The NUPL called for an immediate end to the filing of trumped-up cases of terrorism financing and harassment, threats and intimidation of victims.

At the same time, the NUPL ridiculed the Philippine government’s signing of a “Standard Operating Procedure” for cases of terrorism and terrorism financing, in time with the FATF officials’ visit to the country. This “SOP” allegedly “aligns with international best practices” of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

“One must ask: why now? Why is the Philippine government doing this only now—after filing hundreds of cases and freezing scores of bank accounts?” the NUPL asked. “The UN must face the implications of their involvement in strengthening repressive counter-terrorism measures and take immediate steps to prevent their expertise from being used in systemic human rights violations.”

The FATF should also examine itself, lawyers said, especially when it sets aside civil organizations and its operations are not transparent.

“The newly minted SOP cannot obscure the fundamental flaws in both the state’s counterterrorism approach and the FATF’s enabling role,” according to NUPL.