Taguig court convicts child rights defender Sally Ujano for rebellion

MANILA, Philippines — Anti-child trafficking activist Sally Ujano was found guilty by a Taguig Regional Trial Court (RTC) for the crime of rebellion which was said to be committed in 2006. 

Ujano, 66, has been sentenced to 10 years of prision mayor minimum to 17 years and four months of reclusion temporal maximum.

The activist was arrested on Nov. 14, 2021 by police in plain clothes who reportedly did not show any identification, on a rebellion charge due to alleged involvement in an ambush of two military personnel in Quezon province back in 2005.

The rebellion charge against her was filed in 2006 

Ujano was also accused of being a high-ranking member of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army. 

On Dec. 7, 2021, her camp filed a motion to quash the information.

She was then released on bail on Dec. 29, 2022 after a year of imprisonment. 

Ujano was executive director of the Women’s Crisis Center from 2000 to 2007 and national coordinator of the Philippines Against Child Trafficking from 2008 up to the present. 

She was also one of the individuals who lobbied and worked for the drafting and implementation of certain laws such as the Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children Act of 2004.