Four advocates of the rights of Indigenous Peoples (IPs) challenged before the Baguio City regional trial court (RTC) their designation as "terrorists" by the Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC).

Petitioners in the case were Cordillera People's Alliance (CPA) chairperson Windel Bolinget, founding member Sarah Alikes, research commission member Jennifer Taggaoa, and regional council member Stephen Tauli.

They were assisted by the National Union of Peoples' Lawyers in challenging the issued issued by ATC last June 7 under Section 25 of Republic Act No. 11479, the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020..  A copy of the petition was not available as of posting.

In a statement, the NUPL -- through its president Ephraim Cortez -- said: “Our clients are asserting that the power of designation is being abused and weaponized against rights defenders, including indigenous peoples’ rights activists like them who have been defending their ancestral domains and exercising their right to self-determination."

With the designation of the four IP advocates as "terrorists," their personal bank accounts and even those of their relatives and the CPA were ordered frozen by the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC). 

Cortez recounted the four CPA officials previously questioned before the ATC the basis for their designation but to no avail.

“The grievous consequences of designation, which are not limited to assets freezing, encroach upon our clients’ basic rights and freedoms. Their case demonstrates the urgent need to revisit and declare the ATC’s power of administrative designation as unconstitutional,” he said.

He said the mode of designation under the third paragraph, Section 25 of the Anti-Terrorism Law deprives designees of their constitutional right to due process and access to adequate remedies.