Two Filipino journalists have been accused of financing terrorism. Rights groups say authorities are weaponizing anti-terror laws against criticism and dissent.
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00:00We are a proletarian organization from Edmonton.
00:04We were forced to leave the country in 1980.
00:08We were forced to leave the country in 1989.
00:12We were forced to leave the country in 1989.
00:16We were forced to leave the country in 1989.
00:20We were forced to leave the country in 1989.
00:24During those difficult times, I was the one who gave support to rebel groups.
00:30This is the time when I interview environmental organizations
00:36and sources in the Civil Society Organization
00:40to better understand the situation of people in the remote areas
00:44and communities where the remote mining is operating.
00:48And the voices again, jump, jump, Terror Law!
00:52Jump, jump, Terror Law!
00:54Dissent, dissent, freedom!
00:56Dissent, dissent, freedom!
00:58Terror Law!
01:00Terror Law!
01:02We were forced to leave the burning world.
01:06We were forced to leave the community.
01:10Like Frenchie May, I was also a part of the problem of the society.
01:14In those times, I started as a writer and photographer for the Northern Dispatch.
01:20This is a part of the struggle of mining
01:24of the farmers who built barricades to protect their land
01:30and to fight corruption in the field of agriculture.
01:34As a journalist, this is what I said.
01:38This is a threat to us.
01:40This is a threat to the people.
01:42This is unacceptable.
01:44This is unacceptable.
01:46This is unacceptable.
01:48This is unacceptable.
01:52Source of wisdom and strength.
02:00Terrorism laws in the Philippines are very arbitrary,
02:06very draconian in nature,
02:08considering the motivations behind the enactment of these laws,
02:14which I think is ultimately to quell political dissent in the country.
02:20The effect that would impact on their exercise of their fundamental rights,
02:30the right to free expression, the right to freedom of association,
02:36and even the right to information.
02:44So basically, the message here is it's not worth your time,
02:52it's not worth your safety,
02:54it's not worth your livelihood to be doing these kinds of stories.
02:58And that's really not the message that we want to be put out there in the community.
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