• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Human rights activist Felipe Levy Gelle has been locked up in jail, after being arrested on June 24 by operatives of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Barangay Villamonte, Bacolod City, for alleged violation of the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act of 2012.
Iloilo Regional Trial Court Judge Cyril Regalado, who issued the arrest warrant, recommended bail of P200,000 for the temporary release of Gelle, a volunteer of the Human Rights Advocates of Negros.
Gelle is detained at the CIDG-Negros Island Region office in Camingawan, Bacolod City.
The other respondents, Federico Salvilla and Perla Pavilla, were arrested separately in Cauayan and Pulupandan, respectively, while Dharyl Albanez surrendered to the police on Jan. 2. All of them were released after posting P600,000 bail each.
Gelle and three others are also affiliated with the Paghidaet sa Kauswagan Development Group (PDG), an NGO working with farmers and indigenous communities in southern Negros.
In media interviews, Gelle dismissed charges against him as trumped up.*
