Court lifts asset freeze on Leyte NGO

PALO, Leyte — A Leyte-based nongovernment organization long recognized for its humanitarian work has won a major legal battle. The Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 28 ordered the lifting of the Provisional Asset Preservation Order against the Leyte Center for Development and Empowerment (LCDE), which had been accused of financing terrorism in Eastern Visayas.

The court also denied the government’s request for an Asset Preservation Order (APO) in the civil forfeiture case involving LCDE, its Executive Director Jazmin Aguisanda-Jerusalem, and other individuals whose assets were frozen by the Anti-Money Laundering Council in May 2024.

In its ruling, the court emphasized that asset-freezing measures must be based on solid evidence, not conjecture. The National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL), representing LCDE, said the government failed to credibly link the NGO’s bank accounts and transactions to illegal activity under the Anti-Money Laundering Act or the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act.

The court also highlighted gaps in the financial investigation, including an unclear timeline, lack of proof of alleged organizational links, and failure to assess the legitimate nature of LCDE’s work and funding.

“The denial of the APO underscores our clients’ firm repudiation of fabricated accusations of terrorism financing, which have been used to intimidate and stigmatize legitimate development and humanitarian initiatives,” NUPL said.

Jerusalem called the accusations a form of red-tagging against her organization, which has a long history of supporting farmers and marginalized communities in Eastern Visayas. LCDE has received numerous national and international recognitions, including the International Climate Heroine Award (2017) from CARE Germany, the UN WIN DRR Leadership Award (2021), and multiple accolades for its typhoon “Yolanda” response, helping over 23,000 families with global partners.

Other honors include the Most Outstanding NGO in Volunteer Work and Leader award from the Philippine National Volunteers Association (2015) and the National Gawad Kalasag Award from the Department of National Defense (2006).

Jerusalem noted that the AMLC’s freezing of LCDE’s accounts — including five bank accounts with PS Bank and Metrobank branches in Tacloban — forced the NGO to temporarily halt its humanitarian programs in the region.