KARAPATAN condemned the spate of incidents, including the attempted abduction of a staff of the Negros-based Paghidaet sa Kauswagan Development Group (PDG) and the issuance of death threats against its lawyer. The rights group called on the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to conduct a full investigation into these renewed attacks against the development workers of PDG.
According to the September 21 Movement,on January 25, 2026, Atty. Rey Gorgonio, chair of the Negros chapter of the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL), was threatened with death through a text message sent through PDG community development worker Joselito Macapobre. The text read: “Si Gorgonio,huwag lang niya sobrahan ng tapang. Kasi lahat ng katapangan,babagsak yan sa katahimikan. Pag napunta na sa katahimikan, walang saysay kung anumang posisyon o titulo niya ngayon. Huwag ka na sumabay sa kanya. Baka madamay ka pa.” (Gorgonio shouldn’t be too courageous. His courage can end up being silenced. And if he is silenced, any of his position or title will be for naught. Do not be like him. Or you’ll be affected too.)
The threats, which came in the middle of a public forum on the Writ of Kalikasan and the campaign to stop the operations of an oil palm plantation embroiled in landgrabbing disputes, are especially concerning since Gorgonio’s colleague, former NUPL-Negros secretary general Atty. Benjamin Ramos, was gunned down in November 2018 by suspected military men after being heavily red-tagged and subjected to intense surveillance.
Earlier, on January 18, 2026, Macapobre himself reported an attempt by three men from the 15th InfantryBattalion of the Philippine Army (IBPA) to force him into a blackpick-up truck in Barangay Canginay, Candoni, Negros Occidental. Prior to the attempted abduction, state forces had gone to Macapobre‘s Residence and accused him of supporting the New People’s Army. Macapobre had served as a witness for a fellow PDG staff member whose trumped-up case of terrorism had been dismissed. He says he continues to be under surveillance by state forces.
Meanwhile,January 17, 2026, PDG staff Analyn Mirano reported receiving a text message from an unknown number, demanding that she become a paid informant for the military. The sender, who claimed to be from the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, reportedly threatened Mirano that she and her family would be harmed if she refused.
Sources by the PDG also said that Macapobre andMirano have been targeted because both of them joined the International Solidarity Mission in October 2025 that looked into the operations of Hacienda Asia, the oil palm plantation whose shutdown they have been seeking through a Writ of Kalikasan. The National TaskForce to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) has repeatedly red-tagged and vilified the International Solidarity Mission that conducted investigations in Rizal, Negros, Mindoro and Leyte, claiming their activities boosted NPA propaganda.
KARAPATAN secretary general Cristina Palabay said these red-tagging, threats and harassment incidents against the PDG and those who have been assisting it attest to the validity of the Supreme Court ruling stating that red-tagging poses a threat to a person’s life, liberty and security and must be thoroughly investigated by the CHR.
