Justice Secretary Leila de Lima. FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Justice Secretary Leila de Lima has ordered the withdrawal of the kidnapping charges filed against two Agta women whom the police and the military accused of involvement in the abduction of a retired soldier by alleged members of the outlawed New People’s Army (NPA) in Tanay, Rizal, in September last year.
In a seven-page review resolution dated Jan. 7 and released on Wednesday, De Lima ruled that suspects Marites Marquez and Rosario Loreto were illegally arrested even as she ordered the Rizal provincial prosecutor to conduct a reinvestigation of the case.
“A careful review of the evidence on record reveals a procedural flaw that directly violated the sacred rights of respondents to be secure in their persons, a right enshrined in the 1987 Philippine Constitution. This technicality necessitates a review of the resolution of the provincial prosecutor of Rizal in order to avoid a miscarriage of justice,” De Lima said.
‘Mere hearsay’
De Lima ruled that the two women were arrested based on “mere hearsay” and that the arresting officers “did not even have an iota of personal knowledge of facts and circumstances that respondents committed the offenses.”
It turned out that the women were arrested based only on the information provided to authorities by a member of the Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit (Cafgu) who saw them at an eatery days after the kidnapping of retired M/Sgt. Lino Filipino of the Philippine Army.
Since Marquez and Loreto were subjected to warrantless arrest, De Lima said the rules of criminal procedure applied, among them the provision stating that a person may only be arrested without warrant if he has committed, is actually committing or is attempting to commit a crime; or that an offense has just been committed and the arresting officer has probable cause to believe, based on personal knowledge of the facts and circumstances, that the person to be arrested has committed it.
Abduction
On Sept. 26, 2014, Filipino was abducted from his home in Barangay Tinucan, Tanay, by armed individuals dressed in camouflage military uniforms who introduced themselves as NPA members. Virginia, Filipino’s wife, sought help from the 59th Infantry Battalion (IB) of the Philippine Army.
The following day, Cafgu member Jonathan de los Angeles claimed he saw Marquez and Loreto at an eatery and recognized them as among the group that abducted Filipino. De los Angeles said he was among the passengers of a jeepney that was commandeered by the communist rebels the previous day.
Acting on De los Angeles’ information, elements of the 59th IB members proceeded to the eatery and invited the women to the house of the barangay chair. Virginia and the police also arrived later. The women were then turned over to the police and charged for the abduction.
De Lima pointed out that although Marquez and Loreto were positively identified by Virginia as among her husband’s abductors, her affidavit stated that suspects were caught in a military operation, thus conflicting with the statements by the military and the police that the women were first invited for questioning and then subject to warrantless arrest.
No allegation evidence
“[T]here were no allegations, much less evidence, that at that point in time, respondents committed, were actually committing, or attempting to commit an offense in the presence of the members of the 59th IB which could have validated their warrantless arrests,” the secretary said.
Human rights and indigenous people’s advocates have been calling for the release of Marquez and Loreto in the past three months.
Fr. Pedro Montallana, coordinator for the Diocese of Infanta’s indigenous peoples’ apostolate, earlier wrote De Lima to free the two women, who are currently detained at the provincial police headquarters in Taytay.
According to Montallana, the two lived in General Nakar, Quezon City, and earned a living by buying and selling goods for the gold-panners in their town. The women usually go to Tanay market and were waiting for a jeepney ride when accosted by authorities.
The priest said the two were tagged in the kidnapping because of the black cloth they have around their necks which are customarily worn by Agtas who are mourning a dead relative. The NPA rebels usually wear black neckerchiefs that they use as masks.