Awra Briguela. Images: Instagram/@awrabriguela, Instagram/@limetedryuu
MANILA, Philippines — Bahaghari, a gender identity advocacy group, on Saturday called out the chief of the Makati City police, Col. Edward Cutiyog, for excessive force in the arrest of transgender actress Awra Briguela and the subsequent public remarks Cutiyog made after the incident.
Police said video footage and testimony from employees of the newly opened Bolthole bar in Makati City indicate that an apparently drunk Briguela was asking another bar customer to take off his clothes outside of the bar when a police squad car came by.
But Reyna Valmores, chairperson of Bahaghari, pointed out that the police “violently manhandled” Briguela when she was arrested.
Valmores described this as a form of “illegal arrest” and “unjust detention,” noting that the police had not followed standard arrest procedures, including informing Briguela of her Miranda rights.
It remains unclear whether Briguela, Valmores, or Bahaghari have filed or plan to file charges against the police.