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Gabriela condemns NTF-ELCAC plan to file perjury charges against 2 human rights defenders

Philippines | National

Gabriela condemns NTF-ELCAC plan to file perjury charges against 2 human rights defenders

By Manila Bulletin

Progressive group Gabriela on Thursday, Sept. 21 denounced the plan of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) to file perjury charges against two women human rights defenders, Jonila Castro and Jhed Tamano.

(Gabriela)

This came after the NTF-ELCAC’s press conference during which Castro and Tamano claimed to have been"abducted by the military" and that the task force had "lied" when it said they had surrendered voluntarily.

Read: https://mb.com.ph/2023/9/19/reported-missing-environmentalists-denied-they-surrendered-but-abducted

"If there is anyone here with a ‘playbook,’ it is the military and the NTF-ELCAC," said Gabriela.

NTF-ELCAC spokesperson Undersecretary Ernesto Torres Jr. said they felt "betrayed" by Castro and Tamano for "changing their story" and "denying reports" that they "voluntarily surrendered."

"We’ll study the possibility of filing a perjury against those two individuals," Torres said.

Gabriela then reiterated calls for the abolition of the NTF-ELCAC and the Anti-Terror Law.

"State forces’ utter contempt for women who speak truth to power is undeniable. But we will not be silenced," the group said.

"With truth and justice on our side, Filipino women and the people will triumph against state terrorism—just as we did during the Marcos dictatorship," it added. (Lizst Torres Abello)

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