Help free 5 Human Rights Defenders.
CNN (1) and The World Organization Against Torture (2) are reporting that five human rights defenders and a 1-year-old baby were unjustly arrested by the Philippine National Police on February 7, 2020. Now Internationally referred to as the Tacloban 5, journalist Frenchiemae Cumpio, human rights defenders Marielle "Maye" Domequil, Alexander "Chakoy" Abinguna, Mira Legion and Marissa Cabaljao are being detained after they were unjustly arrested as part of a raid that took place in the middle of the night in Tacloban City, Philippines. Malaya Cabaljao, the 1-year-old baby of Marissa Cabaljao, was also taken. The baby has since been released.
Last year more environmentalists were killed in the Philippines than any other country in the world (3). This situation is dire. The raid on February 7 occurred just months after similar raids and the arrests of 57 environmental and human rights defenders and union activists, including 15 minors, were arrested in nearby Nergros (4). The police planted evidence to frame those activists in an identical manner to the Tacloban 5. Local media is currently reporting police have hundreds of arrest warrants for other activists they're planning to act on (5).
Bail has now been set at ₱120,000 pesos for each person or $3115 CAD / $2350 USD. The majority of families in the Eastern Visayas (where Tacloban is located) live in poverty with an income of ₱57 ($1.13 USD) per day. (6) That means paying off this bail would take the average family in Tacloban more than 5 and a half years. All money raised will go towards bail, which will result in the immediate release of the Tacloban 5. Any additional funds raised will go towards their legal bills going forward.
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A message from the creators of this fundraiser:
Hello, We are Sean Devlin and Amanda Ernst, fundraising on behalf of the Tacloban 5. We have known Marissa Cabaljao for many years, her baby Malaya is our Goddaughter. Marissa is the spokesperson for The People Surge (the Philippines largest alliance of storm survivors). Sean has been documenting Marissa's work for 6 years. You can see Marissa in a short documentary below.
Thank you,
Sean & Amanda
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Our Change.org Petition for the release of the Tacloban 5 now has over 10,000 signatures https://www.change.org/p/the-philippines-is-the-deadliest-country-in-the-world-for-environmentalists-free-the-tacloban-5
SOURCES
1.https://cnnphilippines.com/regional/2020/2/7/tacloban-raid-progressive-group.html
2.https://www.omct.org/human-rights-defenders/urgent-interventions/philippines/2020/02/d25691/?fbclid=IwAR3Y3CsDwzFJlcUKdKYBnFc2lvqxyNW5aJ18MvkWBI9KolyJGq8zv_p2_q8
3. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/07/philippines-deadliest-country-environment-activists-2018-190730050417470.html
4. https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1184834/57-activists-arrested-in-negros
5.https://www.democracynow.org/2020/2/11/headlines/fears_mount_for_5_activists_detained_in_philippines
6. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282673466_Eastern_Visayas_after_Yolanda_Evidence_from_Household_Survey
The New York Times 2019 report on the extrajudicial killing campaign of President Duterte https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/15/magazine/rappler-philippines-maria-ressa.html