The Council for People’s Development and Governance (CPDG) strongly condemns the arrest of Carmilo Tabada, former staff of the Farmers Development Center (FARDEC) and incumbent barangay councilor of Brgy. Poblacion, Trinidad, Bohol.
The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) of the Bohol Philippine National Police arrested Tabada last 20 December 2025. The arrest is based on a case that had already been dismissed earlier this year, yet was revived by authorities to justify his detention. While Tabada has since been released on bail, the continued pendency of this previously junked case remains a form of political harassment, keeping him under constant legal threat.
The re-filing of a dismissed case shows that the arrest is not just about enforcing the law, but about deliberately keeping a community worker entangled in the criminal justice system.
This is not an isolated legal incident but a part of a documented pattern of repeated arrests and harassment against Tabada over several years, despite the absence of a final conviction. His work as a development worker, farmers’ advocate, and an elected local official has consistently been met with surveillance, criminal complaints, and arrests that rely on recycled allegations.
The use of dismissed cases to deprive an elected barangay councilor of liberty undermines due process, disrupts local governance, and sends a clear warning to others engaged in community and development work.
CPDG calls on the Philippine government to put an end to harassment of Tabada and to dismiss all trumped up charges against him. The continued recycling of charges violates the State’s obligations under international human rights standards, including protections for human rights defenders and the rights to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly, as reflected in commitments accepted during the Philippines’ Universal Periodic Review.
CPDG likewise calls for the dismissal of trumped up cases of terrorism financing against development workers, and NGOs. Data gathered by Karapatan as of March 2025 show that 93 individuals charged or designated under the Anti Terrorism Act (ATA), 73 individuals have been charged by virtue of the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act, and 17 NGOs had their bank accounts frozen via the ATA.
The criminal justice system must not be used as a tool to exhaust, intimidate, and silence community workers and local leaders.#
Photo credit: Karapatan