By Diego Morra
While the Marcos Jr. administration has been trumpeting its adherence to the rule of law and respect for human rights, it persists in committing crimes against activists, critics, organizations and common sense. Indeed, malicious prosecution, planted evidence and bogus witnesses have been de riguer since the Marcos Sr. fascist dictatorship. It is still in fashion under the administration of Marcos Jr.
On August 7, 2025, a Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Cagayan junked the frustrated murder charge against Myrna Cruz-Abraham, 70, and 18 others for failing to convince the bench that the accused committed the alleged crime that happened on March 6, 2007. Abraham allegedly plotted and participated in the ambush that killed barangay captain Ernesto Belen in Cagayan and wounded others. RTC Branch 9 declared that the prosecution failed to prove Abraham and 18 other co-respondents were guilty beyond reasonable doubt.
The Abraham case follows the dog-eared playbook of the military and prosecutors that calls for manufacturing evidence, coaching witnesses and pushing theories of their cases that are in conflict with common sense. The testimonies of the prosecution witnesses, the court ruled, were “devoid of any indication of accused’s participation in the alleged March 6, 2007 incident.” Worse, the allegation that Abraham plotted the ambush on January 15, 2007 was destroyed by the prosecution witnesses themselves who said they did not know Abraham and denied ever supplying her name as one of the perpetrators of the crime.
Abraham’s acquittal came on the 68th birth anniversary of Henry V. Abraham, a leading Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) cadre and Myrna’s husband, who was killed by the Philippine National Police (PNP.) A New People’s Army (NPA) command in Northern Cagayan was named in his honor. “Justice prevailed in this case as our mother is not the criminal they picture her to be. The truth is, she never wavered in her commitment to defend the marginalized,” the family said in a statement. “We remain firm in our stand that our mother committed no crime because it is just to fight for the people,” it added.
The Taguig RTC also acquitted five activists charged by the military with the non-bailable crime of illegal possession of firearms and explosives. Known as the Sta. Cruz 5, the accused were collared in Sta. Cruz, Laguna and forced to lie face down on the road as their captors planted the usual pistols and explosives as evidence. Those acquitted were led by National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) peace consultant Adelberto Silva and farmer Edisel Legaspi. Despite their acquittal, Silva and Legaspi are still clapped in jail to face murder charges. Like in the Abraham case, the fabricated evidence and dubious testimonies destroyed the government’s case.
In Mindanao, political prisoners Charisse “Chaba” Bañez and Arjie Dadizon secured the provisional dismissal of attempted homicide and multiple homicide charges from the 5th Municipal Circuit Trial Court in Don Carlos, Bukidnon, the Free Agusan 6 Network announced. Part of the Agusan 6, Bañez and Dadizon still face charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives in Trento, Agusan del Sur aside from attempted homicide and illegal possession of firearms and explosives in Bukidnon. In Tacloban, prosecutors slapped additional charges against journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio after a global clamor for her release on palpably ridiculous rocked the Marcos Jr. government. Instead of freeing her and her co-accused, Cumpio was slapped with additional charges like planning an ambush and leading it hundreds of kilometers from her office.
Three ministers of the United Methodist Church (UMC) in the Philippines have also been slapped with criminal charges. Rev. Glofie Baluntong, a former district superintendent in Mindoro, was charged with violating the Anti-Terrorism Law and attempted murder, but the UMC debunked the charges, tagging it was part of a bigger plot to silence human rights defenders. Baluntong was accused of involvement in the attempted murder on March 25, 2021. UMC has condemned the charges, arguing it is “immoral” to accuse someone of terrorism for working for justice and peace. The alleged attempted murder happened when Baluntong was conducting funeral services for a church member. UMC said the charges were contrived and designed to hinder Baluntong’s work in advocating for the poor and marginalized.
In December 2024, the UMC and Karapatan-Southern Mindanao Region (SMR) condemned the Marcos Jr. regime for filing “terrorism financing” charges against two UMC ministers and a driver. The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) accused Rev. Julius Neri Camannong and Rev. Joel Ordaneza of the UMC in Zamboanga Sibugay, along with driver Romeo A. Russell, of violating RA 10168 or the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act of 2012. CIDG cited former activist-turned-state-agent Nelson Bautista Jr. as claiming that Revs. Camannong and Ordaneza and Russell gave him and a companion “sanctuary.” Karapatan said that the UMC pastors are “focused on promoting impoverished communities, supporting their struggle for justice, peace, and dignity, and practicing the prophetic role of providing sanctuary to human rights defenders suffering from state political repression.” All these five cases vividly illustrate how the PNP, the military and the Marcos Jr. regime has weaponized the law, tampered with evidence and invented testimonies to harass, intimidate, prosecute and jail activists, critics and the religious doing humanitarian work. The continuing crime of Marcos Sr. martial law has been inherited by Marcos Jr.
