On March 4, 2021, labor activists Arnedo Lagunias of Alyansa ng Manggagawa sa Engklabo (AMEN) and Ramir Corcolon of Water System Employees Response (WATER) were both arrested on illegal possession of firearms and explosives. Local groups allege that the arrests are part of the increasing weaponization of court warrants and crackdown against unionists and human rights defenders in the Philippines.