Activists arrested after arraignment

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Rights and labor groups on Tuesday called for the immediate release of two peasant organizers who were arrested without a warrant by the Quezon City police over their alleged involvement in the mauling and robbing of a police officer during a protest in 2020.

In separate statements, the groups criticized what they described as trumped-up charges against Kara Taggaoa, an officer for the militant group Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) International, and Larry Valbuena, president of Pasiklab Operators and Drivers Association under the transport group Piston.

The KMU and International League of Peoples’ Struggle-Philippines called the pair’s arrest “indiscriminate [and] without the benefit of due process and without a preliminary investigation.”

“The police personnel’s justification of their arrests, along with other human rights defenders, is a blatant manifestation of weaponizing the law to silence and repress those who criticize the government’s failed pandemic response, corruption, and trade union and human rights violations,” they added.

Call for vigilance

The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) also condemned their apprehension and urged the international community to “stay vigilant in the coming months for the possibility of further attacks on the labor movement.”

“The arrest of the two labor leaders demonstrates that the present administration won’t recognize due process and legitimate dissent, and is continuing the repression of workers and all legitimate dissent,” said ICHRP chair Peter Murphy.

Taggaoa and Valbuena are facing robbery charges for allegedly mauling and robbing Police Chief Master Sgt. Feliciano Evangelio during a protest action inside the Commission on Human Rights compound in July 2020.

They had just been arraigned in court on Monday when they were suddenly arrested by Quezon City police over the same incident, this time on charges of direct assault. The police claimed the arrests were based on a warrant issued by Metropolitan Trial Court Branch 34 Judge Ludmila de Pio Lim.

But KMU said the police did not present any arrest warrant and just advised the pair of their Miranda rights.

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