Peasant organizer and activist Amanda Echanis has been released after five years in detention, women’s rights group Gabriela said on Wednesday.
Gabriela Secretary General Clarice Palce said Echanis’ acquittal was a victory against what she described as unjust detention based on fabricated charges.
Echanis was arrested on December 2, 2020, in Baggao, Cagayan on charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives during the previous administration’s crackdown on activists.
In a separate statement, Karapatan Secretary General Tina Palabay said the ruling confirmed that the charges against Echanis were “maliciously manufactured” to punish her work among peasants and women.
Echanis was arrested while caring for her 10-month-old son and later made history in 2025 as the first political prisoner elected to the University of the Philippines–Diliman student council.
