ILOILO – Human rights alliance Defend Panay Network (DPN) welcomed the release on bail of Rodolfo “Tay Dolping” Diaz from the Iloilo District Jail late afternoon on Oct. 28.
The 75- year-old Diaz is a member of the indigenous peoples (IP) or tumandok communities in Calinog, Iloilo and Tapaz, Capiz attacked by the police and military on Dec. 30, 2020.
The tumandoks have been firm in their opposition to the building of the Jalaur mega dam (Jalaur River Multipurpose Project – Stage II) on their ancestral land.
For that, they faced militarization and repression, culminating in the 2020 tumandok massacre, according to DPN.
Nine indigenous leaders, including Tay Dolping’s brother, Maurito Diaz, got killed and 16 others, including Tay Dolping, were arrested.
Those arrested faced “trumped-up” charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives based on “planted evidence and fabricated testimony”, according to DPN.
“We salute the efforts of Monsignor Meliton Oso of the Jaro Archdiocesan Social Action Center, his lawyers, and staff, for defending and ensuring Tay Dolping’s temporary release from jail,” a statement from DPN read.
The court ruled that Tay Dolping was entitled to bail because the evidence presented so far is not strong.
“Nonetheless, his struggle – in fact, the struggle of all the tumandok victims – is not over,” stressed DPN.
Despite his advanced age and frail health, Tay Dolping spent almost two years in jail while his case was being heard during protracted and slow court proceedings.
“His arbitrary arrest and detention are a grave injustice that must be addressed, and the perpetrators – the police and military – must be investigated and prosecuted,” stressed DPN.
The group added: “We must recall that none of the perpetrators have been prosecuted nor punished for the murders of the nine tumandok leaders. Justice must also be served for all the said victims and their families.”
“We call on the court to dismiss all charges against Tay Dolping, release all political prisoners detained in Panay and other parts of the country, and demand that the government cease persecuting the tumandok and other environmental and land rights defenders fighting development aggression and defending their ancestral lands,” according to DPN./PN
