Land is Life stands in solidarity with our Asia Program Director and Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA) Secretary General Bestang Sarah Dekdeken, and journalists Kimberlie Quitasol and Khim Russel Abalos who have been falsely accused of cyber libel. They were sued by a former police chief who accused them of blaming him for the dismantling of a memorial to Macli-ing Dulang, Pedro Dungoc, and Lumbaya Gayudan, three Indigenous Kalinga leaders who successfully campaigned against the Chico Dam project in the 1970s. The monument was built by the Cordillera Peoples Alliance in 2017 and removed forcibly in 2020. Bestang was able to post bail and the trial is ongoing.
The case is an example of the Philippine State’s systematic political persecution targeting Indigenous Rights Defenders. It is an attempt to silence criticism against state-perpetrated human rights violations and abuses, where the law is being weaponized against the people. The case is aimed at sowing fear among communities, activists, and critics.
Land is Life joins the calls on the Philippine Government to urgently drop the trumped-up charges against Bestang, Kim and Khim. We firmly stand in solidarity with Philippine activists who are continuously being subjected to judicial harassment for defending human rights.