Zambales court junks case vs 11 student activists

SAN ANTONIO, Zambales, Philippines — A local court has dismissed the charges filed against 11 youth activists who were accused of violating physical distancing protocol when their van was flagged at a police checkpoint on Labor Day.

In an six-page order issued on May 7, Judge Ildefonso Recitis of the Fourth Municipal Circuit Trial Court in San Marcelino town junked the case, citing lack of jurisdiction.

The activists belonging to the League of Filipino Students (LFS) were arrested, along with their driver, while they were on board a 15-seat van and were heading to Pampanga province for a Labor Day rally.

They were detained at the Castillejos municipal police station and charged with violation of a provincial ordinance mandating physical distancing.

They were released after posting P6,000 bail each.

According to Recitis, the information sheet submitted to the court failed to mention if the activists were first or second offenders.

“The absence of allegations means the accused are first offenders,” the judge said, adding that the penalty must be reprimand and fine.

The penalty of fine imposed on first offenders, he said, is “administrative in nature” and judicial intervention is only necessary on the second violation.

Col. Romano Cardiño, Zambales police director, said although the case for breach of health protocols was dismissed, the activists were still facing a separate case of simple disobedience to persons in authority.

—JOANNA ROSE AGLIBOT