Makabayan solons move to probe warrantless arrest of filmmaker

Director Jade Castro PHOTO FROM FB

MANILA, Philippines — A resolution seeking to investigate the circumstances surrounding the “warrantless arrest” of filmmaker Jade Castro and his three companions in Mulanay, Quezon, has been filed before the House of Representatives.

Makabayan bloc lawmakers ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro, Gabriela party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas, and Kabataan party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel filed House Resolution 1596 on Monday directing the committee on public order and safety to conduct a thorough probe on the case.

In the resolution, the lawmakers explained that “[n]o person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, nor shall any person be denied the equal protection of the laws,” as stated under the law.

“Article III, Section 2 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution’s protection of persons against unreasonable searches and seizures is inviolable, and warrants of arrest shall be issued only upon probable cause; there are only three instances in which warrantless arrests are valid:  in flagrante delicto arrest, hot pursuit arrest, and re-arrest of an escaped prisoner,” they added.

According to earlier reports, police said witnesses identified Castro and his three companions as the armed individuals who purportedly stopped the minibus at Barangay Dahican, set it on fire and then fled the crime scene.

After that, the filmmaker and his friends were arrested on February 1 and taken into custody at a beach resort in Mulanay, a nearby town in Catanauan.

According to authorities, Castro and his companions, currently detained in the Catanauan police jail, were positively identified by the bus driver and passengers.

In their defense, a public information officer of Mulanay claimed that when the minibus was burning, two of the suspects were inside an eatery in the town proper.

However, the lawmakers pointed out that CCTV footage showed that the vehicle used by Jade Castro and his three companions were going around the town of Mulanay at around the same time when the arson took place in Catanauan. Castro was also said to be filming a local pageant in the town plaza of Mulanay that night.

Moreover, local officials also claimed to be with Castro and others during the incident.

READ: Bosita says filmmaker Jade Castro’s arrest is illegal

A motu proprio investigation was already held by the same committee last February 19, during the hearing of several members of the Directors Guild of the Philippines Inc. (DGPI) vouched for the professional character of Castro, whom they described as a respectable figure in the film industry.

READ: Directors say arrest of filmmaker Jade Castro ‘shocking, funny at first’

Among them was filmmaker Erik Matti, who is currently working with Castro. Matti described the allegations as bizarre, who likewise pointed out the case’s inconsistencies.