By ANNE MARXZE D. UMIL
Bulatlat.com

MANILA – Progressive groups once again expressed their solidarity with the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines (RMP) as the court heard their defense against the terrorism financing charges filed by the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA).

Different groups who have partnered with the RMP for the past 54 years gathered outside of the Manila Regional Trial Court on Wednesday, Aug. 30, with calls “Activism is not terrorism” and “We stand with RMP” among others.

Katribu Kalipunan ng Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas said it “proudly stands in solidarity with the RMP against the relentless onslaught they have faced since 2019.”

It was on Dec. 26, 2019 when the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) ordered the freezing of RMP’s bank accounts. Other bank accounts of the group were also frozen in February 2020. A total of 15 bank accounts of the RMP are now subjected to civil forfeiture cases.

Read: Bank freeze order vs. church group to deprive poor of aid, services

In a statement, the RMP leadership said that the trumped up charges against them have been difficult to bear.

“Our hearts are committed to service with the poor. These false charges by the National Investigation Coordinating Agency (NICA) have been a significant burden for us. We long to enjoy the freedom to help the most marginalized and under-served farmers, farmworkers, indigenous peoples, and fisherfolk,” they said.

Fernando Hicap of fisherfolk group Pamalakaya-Pilipinas said that many communities rely on the accompaniment and development services of the RMP.

“From peasants in the mountains of Negros to fisherfolks on the shores of Rizal, rural missionaries have been integral in helping many marginalized communities. The poor are the ones suffering the most from the attacks on RMP,” said Hicap.

Read: Missionaries say work for the rural poor hampered by relentless attacks
Read: ‘Loving God is loving the poor’ | RMP to continue serving marginalized communities amid relentless attacks

Dr. Leni Jara of the Council for Health and Development (CHD) meanwhile said RMP was at the forefront of rural health programs.

“Three Catholic nuns of RMP founded the Community-Based Health Program in 1973. RMP priests, nuns, and lay missionaries are some of the most selfless and noble persons you can meet. It is ridiculous to accuse them of financing or supporting terrorism,” Jara said.

For Katribu, charging RMP with terrorism financing and the harassment of its members are all judicial harassment. They said that all accusations against RMP lack “substantial and rational evidence.”

Under the Rodrigo Duterte administration, members of the RMP were charged in courts including a perjury cases against RMP National Coordinator Sr. Elenita Belardo, RMP Northern Mindanao Region Coordinator Sr. Emma Cupin and other nuns of the RMP working in Mindanao.

Read: Charges against 16 individuals unvetted, baseless – lawyers group
Read: Karapatan denounces renewed judicial harassment vs rights defenders

Cristina Palabay, secretary general of Karapatan blames the government’s counterinsurgency program through the “whole of nation approach” and National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) who are using terrorism legislation “to attempt to persecute and falsely label progressive organizations as supporters of terrorism, thus, vilifying them and denying human rights and civil liberties.”

“The false allegations against RMP are one of the ‘test cases’ for this new type of malicious attack,” said Palabay.

The RMP said that its national office through the assistance of its legal team will present its defense over the next weeks to prove that funds from the projects that they implemented have been used properly and audited closely, “and that none of these were used by either RMP or RMP-NMR to help or finance terrorism.”

The case is being heard by the Executive Judge of Manila, who is concurrently the presiding judge of Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 18, Carolina C. Icasiano-Sison.

“We hold on with cast-iron certainty that God is with us. God’s mission serves His most loved creatures who are on the margins of our society. Stand by us and let our God-given fighting spirit, talent and mission to serve the least of our sisters and brothers be offered back to God. We cannot but be faithful to our prophetic mission for God and His people,” the RMP Leadership said in a statement. (RTS, RVO)