Cordillera group urges CA to reverse terror tag

MANILA, Philippines — Members of Baguio City-based group advocating for indigenous peoples’ (IP) rights on Thursday urged the Court of Appeals (CA) to overturn a local court’s decision retaining their terrorist tag for lack of probable cause and due process.

The Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA) filed an 84-page petition for certiorari and prohibition before the appellate court seeking to set aside the April 24, 2026, decision of a Baguio regional trial court (RTC), which junked its challenge to its designation as a terror organization as well as to the constitutionality of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA).

The latest appeal made by the CPA is part of its various legal actions after it was tagged a terrorist through a resolution issued in 2023 by the Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC), then led by former Chief Justice Lucas Bersamin.

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In their petition, Windel Bolinget, CPA chair, and its members Sarah Abellon-Alikes, Jennifer Awingan-Taggaoa, and Stephen Tauli, told the CA that their right to due process was violated when the ATC “arbitrarily” declared their group as terrorists and, worse, without probable cause.

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READ: Baguio court junks case vs terror tag

This is why, they argued, the Baguio court “erroneously applied” the presumption of regularity of performance of the ATC’s function when the former upheld the terrorist tag.

“[T]he ATC was duty-bound to provide an explanation, not only to show that it followed its procedure, but also to explain whether it respected the appellants’ right to due process and whether its findings are supported by substantial evidence. The ATC failed to do so,” they said in the CA petition. 

“As such, there was no basis, in fact and in law, to apply the presumption of the regularity of performance of official function,” it added.

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The CPA members also reiterated that Sec. 25 of the controversial ATA must be struck down for being unconstitutional, as they said it goes against Sections 1 and 4 under Article III of the 1987 Charter.

Under the challenged law, the ATC may designate an individual or group, foreign or local, upon a finding of probable cause. But CPA argues it was tagged without sufficient and credible proof.

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“Clearly, appellants’ case illustrates that such overly broad and punitive measures needlessly encroach upon the realm of protected freedoms. Since domestic designation fails the judicial tests designed to determine the validity of governmental interference into fundamental rights, it is indubitable that the third paragraph of Section 25, as applied to appellants, violates the substantive right to due process,” the group pointed out. /mr