SAN PEDRO CITY, Laguna — A journalist, who has also been working as an anti-corruption advocate, was arrested by policemen in Calamba City, Laguna, early Wednesday.
Supt. Fernando Ortega, the city police chief, confirmed the arrest of Junep Ocampo around 10:30 a.m. from his residence, based on a warrant for libel.
Ocampo, a journalist of the Philippine Star as stated on his Facebook page, was an organizer of the 2013 “EDSA Tayo” rally. The rally was described as a peaceful demonstration along EDSA calling for the abolition of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).
In a Facebook post, Ocampo’s wife Cel said her husband faced libel charges in relation to a bigamy case that involved his sister.
“We were still discussing with the arresting officer, who were all rude, when one of them grabbed Junep and forced him to the car,” Cel wrote. Cel declined to comment further on the matter when asked for additional statements.
Ortega, in a phone interview, said Ocampo tried to resist arrest.
“The wife was in fact the one who hit my police officer hard several times on the chest,” Ortega said.
He added that he was considering filing a case of obstruction of justice against Ocampo’s wife. SFM