Journalist, trade union organizer released

A journalist and a trade union organizer detained for illegal possession of firearms and explosives were released on Friday, a month after their case was dismissed by a Mandaluyong court.

In a four-page order, Mandaluyong Regional Trial Court Branch 209 Judge Monique Quisumbing Ignacio granted the urgent motion to release of journalist Lady Ann Salem and the very urgent motion to release of trade union organizer Rodrigo Esparago, finding their claims “meritorious.”

In her order, Ignacio noted that the trial court “is empowered to immediately release the accused if the evidence on record clearly fails to establish probable cause.”

The court also found the prosecution’s motion for reconsideration on the trial court order on Feb. 18 to be “bereft of merit.”

Salem and Esparago were among the seven who were arrested in December last year in a string of police operations in Manila based on search warrants. They have since been called “Human Rights Day 7” as they have been apprehended on Dec. 10, the day the world marked International Human Rights Day.

Earlier, the same court dismissed the illegal firearms charges against Salem and Esparago due to inconsistencies and discrepancies in the testimonies of the police officers.