Environmental defenders labeled ‘terrorists’ for bringing renewable power to Philippine communities

The Philippine government is actively courting foreign investment in renewable energy projects while simultaneously targeting environmental activists and civil society organizations through "red-tagging"—falsely labeling them as communist sympathizers or terrorists. Two prominent cases involve Jazmin Aguisanda-Jerusalem of the Leyte Center for Development, who faces terrorism financing charges despite being recognized as an International Climate Heroine, and Estrella Catarata of Sibat, whose clean technology organization has been accused of supporting communist insurgency. These organizations, which provide disaster relief and renewable energy infrastructure to vulnerable communities, have had their bank accounts frozen and operations suspended, preventing them from serving populations affected by increasingly severe climate disasters.