United Nations legal office to look into Philippine terror list

MANILA, Philippines — The United Nations Office of Legal Affairs will look into the inclusion of special rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples Victoria Tauli-Corpuz in the list of individuals the Duterte administration wants to be declared as terrorists.

Speaking with Cultural Survival, a United States-based non-profit group protecting the rights of indigenous peoples, Tauli-Corpuz said she is looking at various legal options to counter the petition filed by the Department of Justice before a Manila court.

She categorically denied government allegations that she has ties with the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and the New People’s Army (NPA).

“I have never been involved with the groups mentioned in the petition. I am looking into legal options to counter this clearly false accusation and will continue to do everything I can to advocate for other innocent people included in the government’s petition,” she said.

“The Office of the Legal Affairs of the United Nations is also expected to look into this,” she added.

The nature of the involvement of the UN legal office has yet to be determined.

Tauli-Corpuz, however, maintained that the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the UN that the Philippines ratified should have protected her from such accusations and cases.

“Unfortunately, being labeled a ‘terrorist’ or ‘criminal’ is a common challenge for indigenous leaders around the world. The lands we have long protected and depended on are often targeted for industry, mining, logging or agriculture without our consent – or designated as protected areas even though it is our sustainable management that has kept the forests standing,” she said.

“In my case, I believe the government’s attempt to label me a terrorist is in retaliation for speaking out against the treatment of the Mindanao indigenous peoples in the Philippines,” she added.

Last week, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano claimed that there is basis for the rapporteur’s inclusion in the list due to her alleged links with the Ilocos-Cordillera Regional Committee of the CPP-NPA.

“Ms. Tauli-Corpuz and the other individuals mentioned in the petition are there because of their membership in or association with the CPP-NPA as reported over the years by the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines,” said Cayetano.

“If indeed Ms. Tauli-Corpuz and the others named in the petition are innocent as they claim they are, they should see this as an opportunity to clear their names and prove in court that they have never been members of or associated with the group,” he added.

Fearing for safety

Tauli-Corpuz, however, said her mere inclusion in the list has already raised serious concerns on her safety.

“One can never know what the government is capable of doing, especially in a context where extrajudicial killings are becoming more common,” she said.

“But I am more concerned for others in the government’s petition – which includes activists who have dedicated their lives to advocating for indigenous rights. Not everyone has the resources to defend themselves legally or the visibility provided by a UN position to argue their case,” she added.

Some 600 individuals, including exiled CPP founding chairman Jose Maria Sison and chief negotiator Luis Jalandoni, were included in the list submitted by the DOJ to a Manila court.

Also named were Sison’s wife Juliet de Lima, Jalandoni’s wife Connie Ledesma, former Bayan Muna representative Satur Ocampo and alleged CPP leaders Benito and Wilma Tiamzon, Rafael Baylosis, Randall Echanis, Vicente Ladlad and Adelberto Silva.

Joan Carling, the UN’s Focal Person for Indigenous Peoples Major Group for Sustainable Development, was also included in the list.

The UN Environment Program (UNEP) and the UN Program on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (UN REDD Program) have also called for the dropping of Tauli-Corpuz and Carling from the list. – With Rhodina Villanueva, Jaime Laude