Movement Against Tyranny Cebu

Directions

Movement Against Tyranny Cebu The Movement Against Tyranny (MAT) is the broadest alliance against impunity, and disregard to the rule of law as attack to national freedom and democracy!

The Movement Against Tyranny (MAT) is an alliance of groups and personalities that aims to unite all freedom loving Filipinos against tyranny and build a broad front to counter the increasing fascism and militarist rule of the Duterte government. The Movement aims to break the culture of impunity and the fear, silence and acquiescence that have followed Pres. Duterte's brutal “war on drugs”, “all-out war” approach to armed conflicts, and declaration of martial law in Mindanao. These strong-arm methods have led to the gangland-style killings of thousands of mostly poor drug suspects and the summary ex*****on of scores of activists from the ranks of peasants and indigenous peoples. They have caused devastation, forced evacuations and other human rights atrocities in civilian communities subjected to aerial and artillery bombardment and other destructive military operations. The Movement opposes fascist measures such as the demonification of human rights victims and defenders as “terrorists”, “drug addicts, pushers and/or coddlers”, “extortionists” as well as the use of redbaiting to muddle issues and justify extrajudicial killings and other atrocities. It seeks to end the policy of filing trumped-up cases against critics and activists, leading to illegal arrests and the prolonged, unjust detention of hundreds of political prisoners. The Movement aims to resist the continuing attempts to undermine, pressure or otherwise render ineffective the courts, Congress, the Office of the Ombudsman, the Commission on Human Rights, the working press, the political opposition and ordinary citizens critical of government policies and programs.

03/09/2026

On the “Most Wanted” Tagging of John Ruiz and the Continuing Criminalization of Human Rights Defenders

Karapatan-Central Visayas strongly condemns the Philippine National Police’s designation of human rights defender John Ruiz as Cebu Province’s No. 1 Most Wanted Person.

The “Most Wanted” tagging of Ruiz is a dangerous escalation of the State’s campaign to criminalize, intimidate, and silence activists and progressive leaders in Central Visayas. Despite being publicly visible in Cebu, openly participating in protests and community activities, and exercising his legitimate rights as an activist and human rights defender, Ruiz has been publicly branded as a wanted criminal.

Such designation cannot be viewed separately from the continuing red-tagging, harassment, and weaponization of criminal charges against activists and progressive leaders. Publicly labeling a human rights defender as “Most Wanted” places him at greater risk of intimidation, harassment, and violence. It also reinforces the dangerous narrative that activists are terrorists simply because they criticize government policies, organize communities, and defend human rights.

Even more alarming is the continuing persecution of Dyan Gumanao and Jhonggie Rumol, who have been implicated in the case connected to the same warrant.

Dyan Gumanao, an abduction survivor, should be receiving justice and accountability for what happened to her. Instead, she is facing an attempted murder case. A survivor of abduction should not be made to face criminal charges while those responsible for her alleged abduction remain unaccountable.

Meanwhile, Jhonggie Rumol continues to face multiple criminal charges that serve to harass, intimidate, and silence her as a human rights defender. Like Ruiz, she is facing another criminal case arising from alleged armed encounters.

Rather than addressing the harassment, threats, and attacks experienced by human rights defenders, the State continues to burden them with criminal charges that can be used to restrict their movement, drain their resources, disrupt their daily life, and intimidate them into silence.

This is a clear and deliberate pattern of state persecution. Victims of human rights violations and those who dare to fight for justice are relentlessly prosecuted, harassed, and silenced, while perpetrators and those responsible for these abuses continue to enjoy impunity. The State protects the violators while weaponizing its machinery against the victims and their defenders.

Karapatan-Central Visayas calls for the immediate dismissal of the baseless and politically motivated charges against John Ruiz, Jhonggie Rumol, and Dyan Gumanao.

We amplify our call to end the red-tagging, criminalization, harassment, and intimidation of human rights defenders. We stand firm in asserting that organizing communities, defending human rights, and demanding accountability are legitimate exercises of fundamental rights that must be respected and defended.


01/09/2026



CALL FOR DONATIONS! JUNK ALL TRUMPED-UP CHARGES AGAINST JOHN RUIZ!

Following the recent arrest of John Ruiz, MAKABAYAN Vice President for Visayas, we are calling for donations for his bail bond.

John is a mass-leader and activist who advocates for the welfare of the basic masses and courageously expresses dissent against the inequalities of our systems.

This state sponsored attack is part of the ongoing crackdown on activists whose calls are legitimate and highly relevant to our worsening sociopolitical and economic conditions.

Let us help free John Ruiz! You may donate through these channels:

MARIBANK

CLEISTEIL CIMAFRANCA
10409410178

We appreciate all the help and effort for this cause! Free All Political Prisoners! Junk Trumped-up Charges Against John Ruiz!



28/07/2026

PRESS RELEASE

July 28, 2026

BAYAN Central Visayas hits Marcos’ “predictive” disaster response claims as Cebu remembers Tino devastation

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) Central Visayas slammed President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s claim that his administration has shifted to a “predictive” approach to disaster response, saying that such claims cannot hide the government’s failure to address the root causes of worsening disasters, flooding, and corruption.

“Kung tinuod nga predictive na ang disaster response, nganong bisan gamayng ulan, baha gihapon ang atong mga komunidad? Sa pagsulod sa ting-uwan ug panahon sa mga bagyo, ang katawhan nag-atubang gihapon sa hulga sa pagbaha ug pagkaguba sa panginabuhian. Dili igo ang pag-preposition og relief goods kung ang gobyerno mismo napakyas sa pagpatuman og epektibong flood control ug disaster mitigation,” said BAYAN Central Visayas Chairperson Jaime Paglinawan.

BAYAN Central Visayas also questioned the administration's handling of corruption in flood control projects. The group said that the reported recovery of around P800 million and the freezing of several billion pesos are insignificant compared with the hundreds of billions in public funds allocated for flood control. It demanded that all those responsible, including government officials, politicians, and contractors, be exposed and held accountable, rather than limiting investigations to a few individuals.

“Si Marcos ang Hari ng Korapsyon, apan gusto niyang ipakita nga siya ang nagapanguna sa pagpanubag. Samtang si Sara Duterte, ang Rayna ng Korapsyon, nag-atubang sa impeachment, dili dapat malimtan nga ang korapsyon dili lang problema sa usa ka pamilya o paksyon. Kabahin kini sa sistema nga atong gitawag og burukrata kapitalismo, diin ang pondo sa katawhan mahimong tinubdan sa ganansya sa mga nagkupot sa gahum,” Paglinawan said.

The group stressed that the worsening impact of floods and calamities is not merely a natural phenomenon but is aggravated by corruption, environmental destruction, and policies that prioritize the interests of big business and foreign powers over the welfare of the Filipino people. BAYAN Central Visayas said the country's dependence on foreign powers and the continued dominance of imperialism, feudalism, and bureaucrat capitalism prevent genuine solutions to the people's economic and environmental crises.

“Ang tinuod nga predictive response mao ang pagpugong sa problema sa wala pa moabot ang kalamidad, dili ang paghulat nga malumos ang katawhan una molihok. Dili nato tugotan nga ang mga saad sa SONA mahimong tabon sa korapsyon ug kapakyasan sa rehimen,” Paglinawan said.

BAYAN Central Visayas called for the full exposure of corruption in flood control projects, and all of them must face accountability, including the President and Vice President who are the most corrupt in our country.

# # #

JAIME PAGLINAWAN
Chairperson
BAYAN Central Visayas

28/07/2026
27/07/2026
14/07/2026

We deeply mourn the passing of Retired Judge Meinrado P. Paredes.

As a lawyer, a judge, or an activist, he remained unwavering in his conviction that justice must always serve the people.

Though he has departed, his legacy lives on in our continuing struggle for justice, human rights, and genuine freedom.

We invite everyone to join us as we pay tribute to a life dedicated to service and justice.

Memorial Tribute
📍 Cosmopolitan Memorial Chapel, Lahug, Cebu City
🗓️ July 14, 2026 (Tuesday)
🕒 3:00 PM

11/07/2026

REMEMBERING FATHER RUDY ROMANO: THE PRIEST WHO CHOSE THE PEOPLE'S STRUGGLE

Forty-one years ago today, Fr. Rudy Romano, C.Ss.R., a Redemptorist priest, human rights defender, and revolutionary servant of the Filipino people, was forcibly disappeared by suspected state agents under the Marcos Sr. dictatorship. On July 11, 1985, Fr. Romano was abducted in Barangay Tisa, Cebu City. More than four decades later, he remains missing, making him one of the country's enduring symbols of the struggle against state repression and enforced disappearance.

Born in Villareal, Samar, Fr. Rudy entered the Redemptorist congregation at a young age and was ordained a priest in 1964 during the transformative period of the Second Vatican Council. Inspired by the Church's renewed commitment to the poor and oppressed, he chose not the comforts of the clergy but a life immersed in the struggles of workers, peasants, fisherfolk, urban poor communities, and indigenous peoples throughout the Visayas and Mindanao.

As Martial Law deepened poverty, militarization, and political repression, Fr. Rudy's ministry evolved into one of prophetic witness. He stood with striking workers on factory picket lines, joined communities resisting demolitions, accompanied political prisoners and their families, and exposed human rights violations committed by the Marcos dictatorship. He believed that genuine Christian service meant taking the side of the oppressed and confronting the structures that perpetuated exploitation and injustice.

Fr. Rudy became one of the key builders of the people's movement in the Visayas. He helped establish the Visayas Ecumenical Movement for Justice and Peace (VEMJP), served as executive secretary of the Coalition Against Political Persecution (CAPP), supported labor organizations such as Alyansa sa mga Mamumuo sa Sugbo (AMA Sugbo), and participated in the welgang bayan that challenged the dictatorship's anti-people policies.

When Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) was founded in May 1985 as the broadest alliance of patriotic and democratic organizations in the country, Fr. Rudy was elected as its first Vice President for the Visayas. His election reflected the trust he had earned among workers, peasants, church people, professionals, youth, and other democratic sectors united in the struggle for national freedom and genuine democracy.

His growing prominence also made him a target of the fascist state. Barely two months after BAYAN's founding congress, Fr. Rudy was abducted by suspected military operatives in Cebu City. He has never been surfaced. His enforced disappearance remains one of the countless crimes committed against those who dared to stand with the Filipino people during the Marcos dictatorship.

Today, 41 years since his disappearance, Fr. Rudy Romano's life continues to inspire generations of activists, church workers, and ordinary Filipinos to carry forward the struggle he embraced. His legacy reminds us that faith is inseparable from the people's aspiration for justice, that service must be rooted in solidarity with the oppressed, and that genuine peace cannot exist without national liberation, democracy, and social justice.

To remember Fr. Rudy Romano is not merely to honor his memory, but to continue the struggle he chose—to stand with the masses, resist state repression, demand justice for all victims of enforced disappearance, and advance the Filipino people's fight for national democracy and a just, lasting peace.


10/07/2026

Remembering Fr. Rudy Romano and Levi Ybañez: Remembering the Disappeared, Pursuing Justice and Accountability.

On July 11, we commemorate the 41st anniversary of the enforced disappearance of Redemptorist priest Fr. Rudy Romano and student activist Levi Ybañez, who were abducted separately by members of the Marcos Military Intelligence Group on July 11, 1985, in Cebu City.

Fr. Rudy devoted his life to serving the poor, defending human rights, and advancing the cause of peace and social justice. As the first Vice President for the Visayas of BAYAN and Executive Secretary of the Coalition Against People's Persecution, he stood alongside marginalized communities and those whose voices were often silenced. Levi Ybañez, a young student activist and human rights worker, shared the same commitment to justice and the defense of people's rights.

More than four decades later, their fate remains unknown, and justice has yet to be served. Their disappearance stands as a painful reminder of the many victims of enforced disappearance during the Marcos dictatorship, and of the continuing calls to end impunity and uphold human rights.

As we honor the memory and legacy of Fr. Rudy Romano and Levi Ybañez, we reaffirm our commitment to truth, justice, accountability, and the pursuit of a just and lasting peace.

Join us in commemorating their lives and continuing the call for justice:

8:00 AM – Prayer Service
Fr. Rudy Romano Marker, Brgy. Tisa, Cebu City

5:30 PM – Holy Mass
Redemptorist Church

6:30 PM – Program and Candle-Lighting Ceremony
Fr. Rudy Romano Marker beside Redemptorist Church


Address

Guadalupe

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Movement Against Tyranny Cebu posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category