As much as she enjoys the privileges of her senior citizen card, 66-year-old Myrna Zapanta said the government-issued ID reminds her that she no longer possesses the vigor of youth. 

Gone were the days when, as a church worker of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente, she had all the energy to engage farmers in the Ilocos region, build their capacities, and advocate for their rights. She also took part in disaster response efforts.  

The years have slowed her down, but she still continues this advocacy, occasionally volunteering for the Ilocos Region Ecumenical Council (IREC), joining relief operations with the Solidarity of Peasant Against Exploitation’s (Stop Exploitation) Social Welfare Desk and other church gatherings.

She believes these activities are the reason she is facing terrorist financing charges, the latest tools in the government’s red-tagging and crackdown on activists, according to human rights organizations.

The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) Regional Field Unit in Ilocos Region filed six complaints against her under the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act (TFPSA) of 2012.

“I am afraid because I never expected to be accused of terrorist financing since I am just an ordinary citizen,” said Zapanta, her eyes welling with tears.

Her family can barely cover their daily needs, she said.

“Our finances mostly come from our children’s support. My husband, though already a senior citizen, still takes side jobs because our income is not enough, especially with our maintenance medications,” she said.

“I can’t help but fear for my safety because, for example, when you’re walking, you don’t know if someone is following you or if you’ll just be grabbed and killed,” she said.

I can’t help but fear for my safety because, for example, when you’re walking, you don’t know if someone is following you or if you’ll just be grabbed and killed.

myrna zapanta

Zapanta is one of at least 166 individuals charged or designated as terrorists in recent years under the TFPSA and the newer law, Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, based on data from Karapatan, an alliance of human rights organizations. 

Charges against her exhibit a new pattern that groups have identified in the government’s anti-insurgency campaign, where state witnesses claiming to be former rebels link non-profit organizations and individuals to alleged acts of terrorism financing.

They also link the alleged crackdown on activists and human rights workers to a flagship campaign of the Philippine government to exit the money laundering “grey list” of global financial watchdog Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The FATF requires a demonstration of increased capacity to investigate and prosecute terrorist financing.

TOP IMAGE: Kaduami officers and two of the terrorism financing respondents, Myrna Zapanta (middle) and Petronila Guzman (rightmost), accompanied Kabataan Partylist Rep. Raoul Manuel in the filing of the resolution urging the House to probe “Project Exit the Greylist.” (Sherwin De Vera/Nordis)

New patterns in gov’t anti-insurgency campaign

Until about five years ago, activists and NGO workers accused of having links with the country’s communist rebellion generally faced criminal cases for possession of firearms and explosives. 

“Now, this is the new thing: terrorism or financing terrorism,” said Ephraim Cortez, president of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL).

“It’s an old dog with a new collar,” he said.

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) marked its 65th year in December. It is responsible for the longest-running communist insurgency in Southeast Asia. 

The government’s Anti-Terrorism Council gave CPP a terrorist designation in December 2020. 

Zapanta was accused of facilitating funds for alleged terrorist activities by two non-profit organizations in the Ilocos region—the Katinnulong Daguiti Umili ti Amianan, Inc. (KADUAMI) and the Ilocos Center for Research Empowerment and Development (ICRED). 

KADUAMI, which means ‘partner’ in Ilocano, is a 41-year-old organization with a track record of socio-economic projects. 

ICRED, established in 1988, is known for community-based disaster preparedness and response efforts.

What was the evidence against Zapanta, KADUAMI, and ICRED? 

Avelino Dacanay, former chairperson of Stop Exploitation (Solidarity of Peasants Against Exploitation), claimed that he was a CPP-NPA member, specifically a member of the Ilocos Sub-Region “secretariat.”

He said KADUAMI and ICRED are affiliated with the CPP-NPA and financed terrorist activities. They paid his monthly salaries. They funded rallies, meetings and farmers’ dialogues, and electoral campaigns that he organized under the organizations.

He said the funds came from KADUAMI, calling it the “central finance” for the CPP-NPA in the region.

His assertions include:

  • Zapanta oversees regional finances
  • She receives checks and cash personally, and
  • She’s aware of cash flow from KADUAMI to ICRED

Cortez said allegations against Zapanta exhibit a clear pattern where state witnesses, who claim to be former rebels, are presented to link individuals and NGOs to terrorist financing.

Kaduami and ICRED

The government had repeatedly tried to connect the two NGOs to the CPP and its armed group, the New People’s Army (NPA). Their officers and staff have also previously faced several charges, implicating them in rebel attacks against government soldiers.

The courts acquitted them or dismissed the charges for lack of evidence. 

The new terrorist financing charges were filed in 2024 against development workers Lenville Salvador and Petronila Guzman, using the same witnesses and narrative to charge Zapanta.

Salvador had been the vice chair of the KADUAMI Board of Trustees since March 2010 and chaired ICRED until his retirement in 2023.

Dacanay accused him of heading the rebellion “secretariat.” He allegedly serves as the connection between ICRED and KADUAMI.

The respondents submitted counter-affidavits to contest the allegations. Dacanay has not provided proof for his accusations, they said.

Documents from KADUAMI confirmed that Dacanay held projects but refuted claims that he was a salaried area project coordinator.

Guzman provided records debunking the allegations, including bank records and proof that she was in Iloilo at the time of the alleged transactions.

Many similar legal battles are being fought across the country.

In Mountain Province, former rebels also accused indigenous woman Marcylyn Pilala, a storekeeper in Besao town, of terrorist financing. 

Charges against her relied on testimonies from Victor and Karen Baltazar, former rebels now living in a military camp.

They alleged that she transferred P100,000 to an NPA-linked account, but bank records were presented to show she never held such funds.

The Baltazars also implicated ICRED’s Kang and Salvador. They claimed that Kang supported them financially and that Salvador attended a meeting with them.

Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020

Zapanta, Salvador, Guzman, and Pilala are just four of at least 166 individuals charged or given terrorist designations through the TFPSA and ATA according to Karapatan.

  • 93 individuals charged or designated via ATA 
  • 73 individuals charged via TFPSA
  • 17 NGOs whose bank accounts are frozen via ATA

Terrorist financing cases rose at the beginning of 2019, even as the other cases continued, Cortez said.

Human rights groups believe they were also driven by the Philippine government’s campaign to exit a global money laundering grey list. 

It was also in 2019 when the global money laundering watchdog Financial Action Task Force (FATF) warned the Philippines about strategic deficiencies in its AML/CTF (anti-money laundering and countering terrorist financing) compliance, particularly regarding casinos and offshore gaming operators but also non-financial sectors.

The non-government organizations or NGOs belong to the non-financial sector.

A sequence of events followed:

  • Congress passed the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) in 2020
  • The Anti-Terrorism Council, a creation of the ATA, gave the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) a terrorist designation
  • Terrorist financing charges rose against members of non-profit organizations accused of being CPP fronts

Being on the FATF grey list means a country is under increased monitoring for deficiencies in preventing money laundering and terrorist financing. This can lead to stricter financial scrutiny, slower foreign investments, higher transaction costs, and reputational damage, making international transactions more difficult. 

To remove itself from the grey list, the country must implement reforms to strengthen its financial regulations and address FATF concerns.

The FATF first put the Philippines on the blacklist in 2000, a year before the country passed an anti-money laundering law. The Philippines exited the blacklist in 2005 but remained under monitoring. 

The country was placed on the grey list in 2010 and removed in 2013.

In 2016, the Bangladesh Bank heist happened, exposing weaknesses in the Philippine financial system. Up to $81 million stolen from the Bangladesh central bank was laundered through Philippine casinos. This incident prompted renewed scrutiny from the FATF.

In 2019, the Philippines received a warning. The FATF warned the Philippines again about strategic deficiencies in AML/CTF (anti-money laundering and countering terrorist financing) compliance, particularly regarding casinos, offshore gaming operators, and non-financial sectors.

Based on the Philippines’ National Risk Assessment (NRA), a government-wide activity based on a toolkit designed by FATF, the Philippines identified the country’s risk of terrorism financing as medium-high. It pointed to risks coming from non-profit groups, especially in Mindanao, that distribute aid to threat groups. 

The 2019 Asia-Pacific Group (APG), a FATF-style regional intergovernmental body, criticized the lack of terrorism financing prosecutions in the Philippines.

The response was swift. Congress passed ATA and strengthened other anti-money laundering measures.

Project ‘Exit the Grey List’

A police memo ordering the investigation of Zapanta’s holdings directly links the terrorists financing charges filed against her to the FATF “grey list.”

“Project ‘Exit the Greylist’” and “Filed cases on Terrorism Financing” were typed as references in the memo.

Cortez said the FATF process was weaponized to justify actions against groups accused of financing designated terrorist organizations like the CPP-NPA.

Due to continued issues, the Philippines was put back on the FATF grey list in June 2021. 

Despite reforms, the 2021 NRA update identified non-profits as a key terrorism financing risk. It claimed that some groups funneled funds to rebels.

Terrorist financing cases surged. 

It took almost four years for the Philippines to get out of the greylist again. 

Karapatan has renewed its call to scrap ATA and TFPSA, saying the government will continue to use these laws against government critics. 

“The Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) removal of the Philippines from its ‘grey list’ instigates the further repression of political dissenters, development and humanitarian workers and ordinary folk by egging on the continued implementation of these two draconian laws,” it said in a statement on Feb. 23.

Karapatan said FATF should not tolerate the actions of the Marcos government  that “drags its feet in holding government officials accountable, but preys on people’s organizations critical of the misdeeds of government and development NGOs that provide services for poor communities.”  — PCIJ.org