Marcylyn Pilala, an indigenous woman from Gueday, Besao, Mountain Province is being accused by the Ilocos Region police as having violated the controversial Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act of 2012 (TFPSA) by allegedly allowing New People’s Army (NPA) members to buy from her small "sari-sari" store.

A disturbing pattern has emerged in the Philippines, where professed former members of designated ‘terrorist’ groups such as the New People's Army (NPA), testify against individuals or organizations after their surrender. These testimonies often serve as the basis for charges.

The Anti-Terrorism Council tried to designate the NPA, along with the Communist Party of the Philippines, as a so-called terrorist organization, in a petition but was rejected by a Manila Regional Trial Court decision in September 2022.

Reported NPA surrendered couple Victor and Karen Baltazar alleged Pilala allowed her store to be a source of food stuff, medicine and other goods for the revolutionary army, thus violating the TFPSA.

TFPSA defines terrorism financing as possession, provision, collection or use of property funds, financial or related services for the commission of any terrorist act.

The law, along with the equally controversial Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, is being criticized by civil society organizations as having a very vague definition of “terrorism” that endangers even Constitutionally-guaranteed human rights and freedoms.

Both organizations said Pilala is being harassed because she was among those who opposed a proposed wind energy facility in their ancestral domain.

In her student days, Pilala also served as president of the Mountain Province Youth Alliance (MPYA) that advocates for the rights and welfare of indigenous youth.