(We yield this space to the statement of independent think-tank IBON International due to its timeliness. – Ed.)
VARIOUS organizations express serious concern on the Memorandum Circular No. 15 released by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC Memo 15) and demand its immediate recall.
Under SEC Memo 15, non-profit organisations would be classified from “low” to “high risk” of “terrorist financing abuse.” Organizations would be required to subject almost all of their operational information through the unchecked discretion of the SEC and the Anti-Money Laundering Council under the Duterte administration. Through the bogey of “fighting” money laundering, the circular threatens to limit the already narrowing spaces for civil society while impinging on the people’s foundational rights to assemble and to organize.
SEC Memo 15 is also another step in the ongoing militarization of civilian agencies. Former and current generals have already been appointed to various agencies. The SEC memo meanwhile allows the government’s notorious security apparatus, from the police to the military, to intervene in the activities of civil society organizations (CSOs) in the name of “investigation” and “intelligence gathering” of non-profit organizations.
CSOs are forced to disclose more operational details about their work for democracy and people’s development, while the government is becoming less accountable. Within the last year alone, a slew of high-profile officials convicted of corruption charges have not been arrested, or have been freed, or else have had court cases junked in their favor.
On the ground, CSOs witness shrinking democratic spaces and threatened rights. Police forces recently admitted clandestine intelligence operations against teachers’ unions. In Southern Philippines, under martial rule, indigenous peoples and farmers have been reported to have evacuated from their communities due to military bombings. The nightmare of the so-called “war on drugs” continues, along with moves to lower the country’s criminal age of responsibility to nine years old. These threaten to further trample on the poor and, along with neoliberal economics, continue to neglect their right to genuine development.
Indeed, the SEC memorandum circular against CSOs is another brick in the wall that stands to block the Filipino people’s realization of their rights. CSOs have the right to pursue their work, especially for development that is owned and led by the toiling sectors in society. CSOs for people’s development and social justice are important actors in contexts such as the Philippines, where maldevelopment and economic injustice are found in both cities and countryside.
