Two women from Mountain Province and Batangas asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) to dismiss the charges of violations of Republic Act No. 10168, the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act of 2012, filed against them.
Marcylyn Cagdan Pilala of Mountain Province and Alaiza Mari Traviezo Lemita of Batangas made the appeal in their separate counter-affidavits filed Wednesday, Oct. 16, before the DOJ panel prosecutors conducting the preliminary investigation on the complaint filed by the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG).
According to the affidavits of alleged former members of the New People’s Army (NPA) and married couple Victor Baltazar and Karen Baltazar, Pilala received P100,000 on March 2020 to buy provisions for the NPA.
On the other hand, Lemita was accused of having provided cash, rice and viands to the NPA on March 10, 2017 in Batangas.
In her counter-affidavit, Pilala, a storeowner, said: “I vehemently deny the above accusations. Contrary to the complainants and their witnesses’ false claims, I am not, and never have been a member of the underground communist movement."
She also said that she was "charged of a crime which I did not commit” and pointed out that she been “living a simple life and never been charged nor accused of any criminal offense."
“I cannot possibly be charged and indicted based on the mere say so of self-confessed rebels. In the first place, they have nothing to show that they were indeed former rebels,” she said.
She also pointed out that if the couple are indeed rebel returnees, the 2019 Rules of Court provides that “an extrajudicial confession is binding only on the confessant and is not admissible against third parties.”
“The circumstances under which they executed their affidavits, the fact that they are being kept inside a military camp, and are receiving monetary benefits from the handlers, put in serious doubt the veracity of their testimony/statements and their credibility as witnesses,” said Pilala who lamented that the Baltazar couple are not even charged for any crime yet.
In her counter-affidavit, Lemita denied the accusation against her.
“In addition to its legal infirmities, the complaint should be dismissed for being factually baseless. The allegation that I provided cooked rice, adobo, and cash to the NPA on March 10, 2017 is entirely false,” she pointed out.
“I assert unequivocally that I have never been a member of the NPA, nor have I been involved in any activities of the underground communist movement,” she stressed.
With her counter-affidavit, Lemita refuted the affidavits executed by alleged rebel returnees Ronie Gutiererez and Alfred Manalo.
“In sum, Gutierrez and Manalo’s sworn statements are contradictory, uncorroborated, and made by compromised witnesses with personal interests. Their testimonies, offered in exchange for material rewards from the government, cannot be relied upon. Accordingly, the charges against me should be dismissed,” Lemita stressed.
“Let this be the final chapter in the long history of false accusations, harassment, and violence inflicted upon me and my family,” she appealed.
Meanwhile, the Katipunan ng Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas (KATRIBU) condemned the trumped up charges against the two women.
In a statement, KATRIBU national convenor Beverly Longid said: “This case exposes the absurdity of the law including the Anti-Terror Act, where even simple endeavors like selling food or providing meals can be distorted to crimes."