Remulla: Minimum force used to arrest Sona rallyists

MANILA, Philippines — Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla maintained that the Philippine National Police (PNP) only used the “minimum amount of force” to arrest 51 individuals taking part in a protest rally related to the State of the Nation Address (Sona) last week.

“The 51 who were arrested, they were spraying graffiti on government property, and that’s a law broken in itself. To stop them, we asked them to stop. They resisted,” Remulla said during a La Salle Institute of Governance forum in Manila on Thursday.

“Then, we used the minimum amount of force in order to stop them from doing the graffiti and defacing government property,” he added.

READ: Karapatan hits ‘psychological torture’ of 9 detained Sona protesters

The 51 individuals were apprehended during a rally mounted by progressive groups along Commonwealth Avenue ahead of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s fifth Sona.

Nine of the individuals were held under Quezon City Police District (QCPD) custody, of whom seven face charges for vandalism, malicious mischief and disobedience to a person in authority, while two more face charges for obstruction of justice, according to the PNP.

Meanwhile, 42 were released from police custody, of whom 12 were confirmed by social workers to be minors.

“You may not agree with the tactics we’ve used, but no one was grievously hurt,” Remulla said.

“The crime was stopped. The protests were peaceful.”

On Wednesday, human rights group Karapatan accused the QCPD of “psychologically torturing” the nine detainees.”

In an interview on DZMM on Wednesday night, QCPD spokesperson Maj. Jennifer Gannaban said, “Maayos naman lagay nila… In the first place, nung unang araw pa lang, nung maaresto sila, may mga lawyers na nag-aassist sa kanila.”

(They are in good condition… In the first place, from the very first day, when we arrested them, there were lawyers assisting them.)

“Welcome naman sila kung mayroon silang mga reklamo o complaint sa ating mga kapulisan. Karapatan nila na mag-file ng complaint. Sa atin, ginagawa lang naman natin ang trabaho natin na under investigation sila,” she added.

(They are welcome to file complaints against our police officers. It is their right to file a complaint. On our part, we’re just doing our job since they are under investigation.) /gsg