KARAPATAN: Evidence planting and trumped-up charges against anti-corruption activists persist as 2025 draws to a close

[KARAPATAN Public Information]

PRESS RELEASE

December 28, 2025

Reference: Cristina Palabay, KARAPATAN secretary general, 09173162831

KARAPATAN Public Information Desk, 09189790580

KARAPATAN: Evidence planting and trumped-up charges against anti-corruption activists persist as 2025 draws to a close

Human rights alliance KARAPATAN decried the continuing use of evidence planting and trumped-up criminal charges against activists and progressives in the final days of 2025.

Ramon “Monet” Expiridito Venturanza Alcantara, a former mayoral candidate of Abra de Ilog, Occidental Mindoro and an anti-corruption advocate, and Mike Cabangon, a cultural worker and labor organizer in Northern Luzon, were arrested in separate incidents in Mindoro and Baguio, respectively.

Alcantara is currently held at the Philippine National Police - Criminal Investigation and Detection Group facility in Camp Miguel Malvar, Batangas, while Cabangon is out on bail.

According to reports received by KARAPATAN Southern Tagalog, at around 3:00 a.m. on December 23, combined elements of the PNP-CIDG, local police, and the 76th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army (76th IBPA) forcibly entered Alcantara’s home in Barangay San Vicente, Abra de Ilog, Occidental Mindoro. Witnesses said authorities attempted to link him to an alleged encounter between the 76th IBPA and the New People’s Army in Barangay Lumangbayan on November 26, despite the absence of credible evidence.

Alcantara is known as a progressive advocate opposing large-scale mining in Mindoro and supporting Mangyan communities’ struggle for ancestral land rights.

On December 27, Mike Cabangon, coordinator and spokesperson of the regional chapter of the national labor center Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), regional organizer of transport group PISTON–Metro Baguio, and vocalist-guitarist of the progressive band Ebkas Waya (Speak Free), was served an arrest warrant in his Baguio City home. The arrest stemmed from a terrorism financing case filed earlier in 2025 under the Anti-Terrorism Financing Act (Republic Act 10168). Another terrorism financing case filed against Cabangon earlier this year had already been junked at the prosecution level.

“These arrests only point to one thing: authorities are quick to arrest activists but painfully slow when it comes to arresting the corrupt,” KARAPATAN Secretary-General Cristina Palabay said. She added, “The state doubles its efforts to arrest activists with fabricated cases and terror tagging, in a desperate attempt to silence protests and the resounding calls for justice and accountability, even during the holidays.”

KARAPATAN said the trumped-up charges and planted evidence against Alcantara are part of the dirty tactics used by the state to suppress activists. “The Marcos Jr. administration continues to rely on this repressive playbook, planting evidence to justify arrests and weaponizing the law to silence critics. It survives on fascism and deception. Marcos Jr. punishes those who dare fight corruption while performatively pretending to confront the corrupt. The true criminals, in fact, are in the Palace,” Palabay added.

KARAPATAN urged the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to immediately investigate the arrests and the trumped up charges against Alcantara and Cabangon, including allegations of evidence planting and the role of state forces involved in the operations. The group also called on the Department of Justice (DOJ) to junk the fabricated illegal possession of firearms and explosives case and prevent the revival of long-dismissed criminal accusations to justify the persecution of activists.

The alliance further appealed to the public to remain vigilant and stand in solidarity with victims of political repression.

“We demand the junking of trumped-up charges against Alcantara and Cabangon. Alcantara should be released immediately. We continue to stand with the people who bear the brunt of state monstrosity, while corruption and human rights violations by those in power go unpunished. Collective action is crucial in stopping these violations. We must unite in holding perpetrators of human rights violations and the Marcos Jr. regime accountable,” Palabay said.

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Alliance for the Advancement of People's Rights

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Diliman, Quezon City, PHILIPPINES 1101

Telefax: (+63 2) 4354146

Web: http://www.karapatan.org

KARAPATAN is an alliance of human rights organizations and programs, human rights desks and committees of people’s organizations, and individual advocates committed to the defense and promotion of people’s rights and civil liberties.  It monitors and documents cases of human rights violations, assists and defends victims and conducts education, training and campaign.