IT went back to September 2021, when Jazmin "Minet" Aguisanda-Jerusalem received calls from some farmers, whose NGO helped her outside Tacloban, eastern Philippines. “They said, ‘The Army told us to hold a rally outside the office.’ “The Army even said they would provide transportation and food. ”

As a beneficiary of LCDE, farmers are reluctant to participate. But then, Met began to receive more calls from friendly journalists saying they were “invited” to protest. Sure enough, on September 21, about 20 charming people appeared, fixing the placards to the doors of her office that were clearly written by the same hand that accused NGOs of supporting local Communist rebels. "Obviously, some people are forced to attend," Minet told Time.

This is not the first sign of the troubles of LCDE, which provides emergency assistance for livelihoods, including rain gauges, sleep pads, blankets, solar lights and other equipment to better prepare for typhoons or floods, providing 21,000 households per year for 3,000 households.

By highlighting the lapses in public services, LCDE occasionally rubs against bureaucracy, and Mett is often threatened with intimidation and occasional death. The fact that LCDE works in the Arcane Mountains of the Philippines is also operated by the fact that rebel groups operate there and has been regularly used by security forces seeking scapegoats as Cudgels. “Maybe the state armed forces will bring us the same basket as the communities they think support the rebels,” Minet said.

But overall, several high-profile awards proved their strong relationship with the government. But it was a periodic annoyance when five bank accounts and related personnel (including Met and her son, not even employees) were suddenly frozen by the National Anti-Currency Laundry Commission last May.

The bank accounts of two vendors were also frozen, with LCDE source relief donations, and even local mechanics who recently made repairs to Toyota Hilux for about $300. While the intimidation is a pathetic for the courses of local NGOs in the Philippines, the freezing of bank accounts is devastating. Authorities even canceled the registration of Hilaks' vehicle so they would not be able to reach the distant villages.

The LCD case is strange in many ways, but nothing more, so no criminal case was filed six months after its account was frozen. When allegations of financing terrorism were filed against Minet the next day in November, prosecutors dismissed them a month later for lack of evidence. But their accounts were still frozen, and in February, three more terrorist financing charges were charged against Menie, so she was forced to issue a bail of 600,000 pesos ($10,500) for her. More and more challenges make the battle more difficult. After 37 years of helping society’s most vulnerable, “we have to stop operations,” Minet said.

The Philippines has a long and unfortunate history of NGOs. In 2023, it is the most dangerous country for climate activists, accounting for 17 people who murdered or “disappeared” worldwide.

Nadir takes place under the tenure of authoritarian former president Rodrigo Duterte, where climate activists are often "red labeled" by individuals or organizations that label Communists, subversive or terrorists as discredited and silenced them. After Duterte came to power, he formed a national task force to end the local communist armed conflict or NTF-Elcac, part of a "national" effort that eventually revoked the rebel group. But the real goals are often indigenous leaders, advocates of anti-mining, environmental restoration campaigners and community organizers.

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In February 2020, Marissa Cabaljao, a spokesman for the emergence of the people of the disaster survivors in Tacloban, was arrested and arrested and committed terrorism after attacking her office. She has lived far from her family ever since.

Marinel Sumook Ubaldo is also marked in red under Duterte when she organized the Philippines’ first youth climate strike in 2019. "It's frightening that they're also trying to intimidate my family and tell my parents to let me stop," she said. "Even our local government departments are part of those who scared me."

"While the red marks are not as bad as the Duterte era, the 'terror marks' have all deteriorated," Human Rights Group said, despite Marcos Jr., a senior researcher at Manila Human Rights Watch. "That's the most worrying part."

The Philippine Justice Department did not respond to a duplicate request for comment on the story, although the Marcos administration previously denied the red mark. But the reason for the surge in prosecutions related to terrorism is an open secret.

In June 2021, the year before Marcos came to power, the Philippines was placed on the "grey list" of the Intergovernmental Working Group on Financial Action (FATF) due to a loose approach to resisting money laundering and terrorism financing, which means the country is subject to increased monitoring and potential economic fines. Suddenly, prosecutions were imposed on the top of the security agenda and inspire every ambitious military and police officer to find simple goals. Presumed work safety and promotions, funds and even possible bonuses are linked to the progress of that score. Finally, about 64 NGOs across the Philippines face criminal charges, including terrorism and even murder.

“It’s about money,” Minet said. “We’re just pawning in this number game.”

The goals of NGOs and activists have been particularly undermined, given that the Philippines has been rated as one of the most vulnerable climate change countries in the world. "When NGOs or grassroots groups are marked red, local partnerships are eroded," said Gwendolyn Pang, secretary general of the Philippine Red Cross. "The shrinking of civic space has made climate and environmental organizations reluctant to participate in public discourse to avoid retaliation."

But the Philippines is far from an isolated case. The worrying patterns of civil society from Australia and India to the UK, Mine ET’s experience reports a gradual decline in space and more legal barriers to their advocacy. Even the United States is not immune. President Donald Trump's crime against the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has made about $75 billion from the world's poorest people, including $104 million in the Philippines, while his withdrawal from the WHO will cut about 12% of the stake from the organization's $6.8 billion budget. But perhaps more destructive is the attacks of his administration on critics (especially foreign students and even green card holders) that have had a huge impact on climate activism in the world’s top economies, especially as Trump withdraws from the Paris climate agreement again.