2 ‘Tagaytay 5’ members plan to sue cops for damages
By Leila Salaverria
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 06:53:00 08/29/2008
MANILA, Philippines—Two members of the “Tagaytay 5” are considering filing a landmark case for damages against the police officials who kept them in detention for two years without basis, according to their lawyer, former Solicitor General Francisco Chavez.
Chavez said his clients Rico Ybañez and Michael Masayes may want to seek redress for the two years that their lives were put on hold because of suspicions that they were planning a terrorist attack.
The other members of the Tagaytay 5 are Aristedes Sarmiento, Axel Alejandro Pinpin and Riel Custodio.
They were called the Tagaytay 5 after they were abducted while riding in a car in Tagaytay City by Cavite police and Naval Intelligence and Security Forces operatives on April 28, 2006. The five were later charged with rebellion on suspicion that they were communist guerrillas.
“We are seriously considering an action for damages for the baseless arrest. There is proof they were tortured and kept in isolation,” Chavez said in a phone interview.
He said his clients also suffered emotionally while in detention. According to him, Ybañez was barred from visiting his wife’s wake and he had to beg to be allowed to attend her burial.
Masayes also lost a child while he was in jail.
Chavez said that should his clients file the suit, it would be because they wanted to teach authorities a lesson.
“This would be a trailblazing suit. If we file it, we want it to provide a deterrent to authorities. You can’t just put people in jail to please your superiors and to come up with a quote of arrests,” he said.
Chavez said he expected his clients to celebrate their freedom first. “This is a happy day for them,” he said.
The five men were released Thursday afternoon after the Tagaytay Regional Trial Court (RTC) dismissed the rebellion case filed against them by the police.
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