THE Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines celebrated the dismissal of four trumped-up charges filed against its ACT Region X Union President, Teacher Ophelia Tabacon, along with 16 other human rights defenders from Cagayan de Oro who were co-accused for the ‘Sibagat cases.’
“The dismissal of cases against Teacher Ophel is a major victory for ACT whose members and leaders have been incessantly red-tagged and harassed by the Duterte regime for being vocal critics of the government who neglected the rights and welfare of education workers and the education sector as a whole. We will hold accountable those who, in the past two years, have brought endless hardships to the life of a public school teacher-unionist, who is also a single mother to a special child and five others,” vowed Raymond Basilio, ACT Secretary-General.
The Union of People’s Lawyers in Mindanao (UPLM), who served as the legal counsel of the defendants, reported that Judge Fernando Fundalan of RTC 7 Bayugan City, Agusan del Sur dismissed the cases of destructive arson, kidnapping, and robbery with violence against or intimidation of persons, collectively referred to as Sibagat cases, and quashed the warrants of arrest stemming from the case in the court decisions issued last June 10 and October 8, 2021 on the basis of John Doe warrants and inordinate delay of reinvestigation.
“We welcome this new win not only for Teacher Ophel, but also for our struggle for rights and democracy. The dismissal of these trumped-up cases against unionists and activists in Cagayan de Oro is an important addition to the increasing number of junked fabricated cases against known critics of the government —proving once again that these were nothing but attempts to silence dissent. Now, we continue our fight for justice by holding to account those behind these vicious attacks. We are now in the process of preparing countercharges,” declared Basilio.
ACT cited the grave impacts of the trumped-up cases on Tabacon’s personal life and work as public school teacher. Most notable was how she was forced to file for early retirement as she can no longer perform her duties without fear for her safety and security, especially as she has already been subject to various forms of harassment, red-tagging, and other forms of attacks in her place of work. This had dire consequences for a single mom with six children—one of whom has special needs and four are still studying. She was also forced to be away from her kids for fear for their safety.
“Justice must be served to Teacher Ophel and her children who have been subjected to unwarranted economic, emotional, and psychological sufferings by the state. The culprits behind these should be charged—from those who were instrumental in building up the trumped up cases against her, including the concerned branch of the judiciary, up to the highest officials of the Duterte regime and the NTF-ELCAC. We will be coming after you. Hindi matatapos sa pagkabasura ng kaso ang laban namin para sa hustisya. Dapat kayong managot sa matinding paglabag sa karapatan at kalayaan ni Teacher Ophel at ng marami pang katulad niyang biktima ng tiraniko at pasistang gobyernong Duterte,” decried Basilio.
Even before the trumped up charges were filed, ACT has publicized various reports of harassment and intimidation experienced by Tabacon. As early as 2014, Tabacon has reported about being approached by state agents who asked about her activities as an ACT leader and tried to coax her into quitting the organization. However, ACT noted that it was in 2019 when the attacks against her intensified and became more relentless. She was among the victims of the illegal police profiling of ACT members across the country. She was also branded as a terrorist and an NPA member in flyers circulated throughout Cagayan de Oro City, in tarpaulins hung outside her school, in spraypaintings across the city, in anonymous messages left outside her school and in her facebook account. At one point, while she was leading a leadership training seminar, she was handed a bouquet of flowers and an envelope containing more red-tagging posters and threats.
“Teacher Ophel’s experiences show the extent of attacks and rights violations brought about by the Duterte regime’s ‘whole of nation’ approach to supposedly counter insurgency in the country, but in actual only targets civilian activists. This exposes Duterte’s sham ‘war on terror’ as a mere veil over state attempts to suppress the exercise of our constitutionally protected rights and freedoms. As such, all its instruments must be dismantled. The 2018 executive order 70 should be junked and the NTF-ELCAC should be defunded and abolished,” Basilio criticized.
ACT added that, since the Marcos dictatorship, Duterte holds the worst track record in protecting the rights, freedoms, and welfare of teachers and the rest of the Filipino people. As such, ACT vows and calls on other Filipinos to ensure that the Dutertes and Marcoses never again be seated in power.
Reference: Raymond Basilio, 0917 593 1202
