A MILITANT group in the Cordillera lauded a recent move by the Department of Justice (DOJ) in removing the names of alleged terrorists from the region.

In a statement, the Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA) welcomed the removal of the names of Cordillera leaders and indigenous human rights defenders in the amended petition of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to proscribe the Communist Party of the Philippines and the New People’s Army as terrorist organizations.

“We thank all individuals, organizations, institutions and the Cordillera local government units that supported our campaign against the malicious terrorist tagging of indigenous human rights defenders and the DOJ petition. We are glad that our names have been removed. However, this is not the end since the amended DOJ petition will only continue to endanger the lives of human rights defenders. Hence, we continue to call for support in our demand for the petition to be junked to prevent even worse and massive human rights violations in the country,” CPA chairperson Windel Bolinget said.

Bolinget’s name was included in the DOJ terrorist proscription together with former CPA chairpersons Vicky Tauli-Corpuz, Jose Molintas, Joan Carling, Beverly Longid, CPA Advisory Council member Joanna Patricia Cariño, Tongtongan ti Umili (CPA-Metro Baguio) and ACT 3rd nominee Jeanette Ribaya-Cawiding, and environmentalist Sherwin De Vera.

The DOJ petition filed in March 2018 at the Manila Regional Trial Court faced several legal challenges which led to the earlier deletion of the names of Satur Ocampo, Rafael Baylosis, Corpuz and Molintas as respondents. The DOJ petition was strongly denounced by many local and international organizations, the United Nations and other government bodies and personalities.

Last week, UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (IPs) Victoria Tauli-Corpuz and Joan Carling, a former indigenous expert member of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, visited the members of the local legislative body during their regular session last Monday to personally express their gratitude to the support of the local government and the people against the terrorist tag on them by the justice department.