ILOILO City – The local alliance of human rights defenders and organizations, Panay Alliance Karapatan, welcomed the recent judgment of the Municipal Trial Court in Cities (MTCC), Branch 7 acquitting activists, members of progressive groups and community journalists known as the “Iloilo 42”.
On May 1, 2020, the said individuals, including members of Panay Alliance Karapatan, were arrested and criminally charged by the Philippine National Police when they attempted to hold a motor caravan to denounce the murder of activist Jose Reynaldo “Jory” Porquia.
The police filed four charges, three of which were dismissed by the Iloilo City Prosecutor’s Office.
The fourth, a criminal case for Disobedience to an Agent of a Person in Authority under Article 151 of the Revised Penal Code, was elevated and filed in court.
The 42 persons arrested then spent the next two years defending themselves against a baseless accusation. Two of them, activists Jocelyn Gabion and Pergerie Panila, passed away during the pendency of the case.
On Aug. 15, a similar “Disobedience” case filed by the police against the “Molo 4” activists was also dismissed, on demurrer to evidence, by Branch 4 of the MTCC of Iloilo City.
The court struck out as insufficient the evidence presented by the police against Elmer Forro of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan and three other activists.
The charge stemmed from a public demonstration held on April 3, 2020 in front of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) regional office in Molo, Iloilo City to push for the efficient and speedy implementation of the emergency assistance to people gravely affected by the pandemic.
With the implementation of quarantine as justification, the Iloilo City police disrupted the peaceful demonstration and later filed a charge of disobeying lawful order against four activists.
Despite these recent victories, the said cases highlight the tendency of the police to abuse its power by arresting and filing unwarranted criminal cases against persons who peacefully exercise their civil rights, according to Panay Alliance Karapatan in a statement.
“Free speech and the right of peaceful assembly are paramount and absolutely vital if we are to expect the government to listen and adhere to the will of the people. The law even says that no person can be arrested or punished for participating in a peaceful assembly,” the group stressed.
Yet, according to the alliance, “Our experiences show that these rights are being curtailed at every turn. Peaceful protesters are often threatened or actually arrested, and suffer years facing unwarranted criminal cases. We cannot say that we live in a democracy when the State refuses to give even the most fundamental freedoms the protection they deserve.”
The acquittal of the “Iloilo 42”, according to the group, is a reminder of the many injustices that are yet to be addressed – the murder of Jory Porquia, the trumped-up case and continued detention of Elmer Forro and other political prisoners, and the attacks and threats against activists, development workers and other civilians especially in barangays that have become the targets of police and military operations such as those in the fishing communities in Aklan.
“Violations of human rights are still very much prevalent throughout the country. Many victims and their families continue to demand justice. We call on the government to drop all the trumped-up charges against our fellow human rights defenders and the countless other innocent people now locked up in jail or mired in court cases,” stated Panay Alliance Karapatan./PN
