Manila police stop pro-Estrada gathering

The political “noise” marking the election season must be reaching a high pitch in Manila that it got five reelectionist councilors into trouble with local law enforcers.

The Manila Police District on Friday booked five council members—all known supporters of former president and now Manila mayoral candidate Joseph “Erap” Estrada—for supposedly disturbing a neighborhood, obstructing traffic and failing to secure a permit for their gathering Wednesday night.

Supt. Ferdinand Quirante, commander of the MPD’s Ermita station, cited 5^th District Councilors Ric Ibay, Cristy Isip, Erick Valbuena, Che Borromeo and Che Yupangco for supposedly violating an “antinoise” ordinance, among others.

In a report, Quirante said the local officials held a rally at the corner of Gen. Luna Extension and Merced Street in Paco, where they also conducted a raffle for residents who attended the event.

He said unnamed residents complained about the noise from the gathering, prompting his men to proceed to the site.

He said the organizers failed to produce a permit for their assembly, hence the people were ordered to leave.

Quirante said they “dispersed peacefully,” an account disputed Friday by Councilor Jong Isip, the council’s spokesperson.

According to him, Cristy Isip and Yupangco figured in a scuffle with MPD members, who he said numbered around 20, some of them in civilian clothes.

He said Isip sustained cuts and bruises and that her blood pressure also shot up, while Yupangco sprained a wrist and required medical attention after the incident.

“The policemen confiscated the tambiolo (lottery bin) while the raffle was ongoing as the councilors held it tightly,” Isip said.

Isip said Wednesday’s affair was the third leg of the councilors’ ongoing tour of the district.

But he maintained that “during the gathering, we did not campaign. We just answered questions from the residents and stated that we are supporting the candidacy of former President Joseph Estrada.”

Estrada has emerged as the main challenger of reelectionist Mayor Alfredo Lim.

Isip said it was the third time their “peaceful gathering” was stopped by policemen who claimed that they were just following orders from “City Hall.”

“We do not want to think it’s political harassment, but the local police is under the jurisdiction of Mayor Lim,” Isip said.

He said countercharges will be filed against the policemen, including MPD director Chief Supt. Alex Gutierrez, in the Ombudsman and the National Police Commission for “abuse of authority.”

Reached for comment, Lim’s chief of staff Ric de Guzman said the mayor’s office had nothing to do with the incident, which he described as “purely a police matter.”