Rights group KARAPATAN welcomed the acquittal decisions issued by local courts in Cagayan and Taguig City in the cases of activists arrested on what they deemed as politically motivated charges.
On August 4, indigenous people’s rights activist Myrna Cruz-Abraham was acquitted of a 2007 frustrated murder charge due to the prosecution’s failure to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, as ruled by the Cagayan Regional Trial Court Branch 9. Meanwhile, on August 6, peace consultant Adelberto Silva, labor organizer Ireneo Atadero, agriculturist Edisel Legaspi, driver Julio Lusania, and women’s rights advocate Hedda Calderon—collectively known as the Sta Cruz 5—have also been acquitted on trumped-up charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives.
Cruz-Abraham was nabbed while spending time with her daughter and grandchild at a mall in San Rafael, Bulacan on January 27. She was detained in Camp Karingal in Quezon City for over a week before being released on bail. This was also the second time that Cruz-Abraham had been detained following allegations of murder and violation of the election-period gun ban in 2010. Eventually, these cases were further dismissed, leading to her release in December 2010.
On the other hand, the Sta. Cruz 5 had also been languishing behind bars for almost seven years. According to KARAPATAN, their vehicle was intercepted via a checkpoint and made to alight and turn away from the vehicle. That was also the time they deemed that the firearms were planted in their vehicle.
“We are glad that the court was able to see through the lies and inconsistencies of the prosecution witnesses’ testimonies,” said KARAPATAN secretary general Cristina Palabay.
In October 2019, Calderon was able to post bail. The rest, however, who were suffering from various conditions such as hypertension and diabetes spent six years and ten months in jail before their case was promulgated.
Palabay added that the Sta. Cruz 5 were among almost 300 political prisoners who endured the crackdown against activists charged with illegal possession of firearms and explosives. Such an allegation that followed a similar pattern of raid operations during wee hours among homes and offices of activists and peace consultants under the former Duterte administration.
“Naghuhumiyaw ang hustisya dahil sa pagkakataong ito, nanaig ang katotohanan na hindi kriminal ang aming ina. Hindi tumigil ang aming ina at ang kaniyang mga kasama na patunayan na hindi pagkakamali ang ipagtanggol ang naaapi. Kaya mariin pa rin namin ipapahayag na walang nagawang kasalanan si Mama dahil hindi mali ang lumaban sa nakararami upang magapi ang iilan,” it read in the statement of Cruz-Abraham’s family.
KARAPATAN National Capital Region emphasized that the acquittal decision for these activists is a huge blow to the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and the Philippine National Police (PNP) in their efforts to infringe on the rights of environmental defenders, indigenous people, peasants, women, and LGBTQ, among others. The rights group noted that these state agencies are being used as tools to carry out red-tagging threats and weaponization of the law since the former Duterte administration and until today under Marcos Jr.’s watch.
As of June 2025, KARAPATAN has documented 737 political prisoners, with at least 164 arrested under the Marcos Jr. administration.
“This is a systemic scheme, where many activists still face the same pattern of fabricated charges, planted evidence, and reliance on dubious witnesses, often dragging cases out for years to break their resolve,” said KARAPATAN NCR spokesperson Jhana Cordovez.
“Beyond the celebration of the success in achieving justice for Cruz-Abraham and the Sta. Cruz 5, we remain committed and determined to advance the fight until all political prisoners in the country are freed,” Cordovez concluded.
