Criminal raps filed vs leaders of Oct. 21 rally

The Manila Police District (MPD) filed yesterday charges of assault, obstruction and illegal assembly against leaders of the Oct. 21 rally in Sampaloc, Manila, in which at least six crowd-control personnel were wounded.

Charged before the Manila fiscal’s office were party-list Representatives Satur Ocampo, Liza Maza, Crispin Beltran and Teddy Casiño. Others charged were militant leaders Renato Reyes, Carol Araullo, Nathaniel Santiago, Antonio Tinio, Rafael Mariano, Ronald Lumbao, Bani Combrenero, Arman Amorillo, Robert de Castro, Cristina Palabay and Raymond Villanueva.

MPD-general assignment section chief Superintendent Arturo Paglinawan said the leaders were charged for their failure to stop their members from marching to Mendiola near Malacañang, and assaulting the police.

"Video footage clearly showed how most of the demonstrators assaulted members of the Civil Disturbance Management (CDM) team despite the police’s maximum tolerance," Paglinawan said.

MPD director Chief Superintendent Pedro Bulaong said the marchers "deceived" the police when they marched toward C. M. Recto Avenue going to Morayta "when their permit allowed them to hold their rally at Plaza Miranda and Liwasang Bonifacio." All are in Manila.

Police filed charges of "direct assault upon an agent of a person in authority" instead of physical injuries against the rally leaders when their members inflicted injury on at least six policemen, including four female anti-riot personnel.

"Since we failed to determine who among the rallyists injured the policemen, their leaders shall bear the brunt of the charges since they failed to maintain peace and order among their ranks," said Paglinawan, who is also a lawyer.

Assault carries a graver penalty than physical injury, he added.

The injured lawmen were identified as Police Officers 3 (PO3) Marian Evangelista, Martheres Solidarius, Ma. Gracia Baldenas, Aldine Moreno, PO2 Gonzaga Joner and PO1 Allan Baysa, who sustained the most severe injury after being hit in the head when he bent down to help someone at the height of the clashes with demonstrators. Baysa was treated for a head wound that required six stitches.

According to Bulaong, some 26 police personnel, including uniformed policewomen, were injured in two consecutive Friday rallies.

‘No legal basis’

The filing of charges against rally leaders came as the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) came out with its initial findings yesterday showing the MPD had "no legal basis" for using the "calibrated preemptive response" (CPR) against rallyists during the Mendiola protest march last Oct. 14.

CHR Commissioner Wilhelm Soriano said the "initial consensus" of the CHR en banc was that no legal basis was found for the MPD’s "no permit, no rally" policy, the implementation of the CPR, as well as "declaring Mendiola Bridge as a ‘no-rally zone’ and the use of firetrucks."

"The hosing down of rallyists was not necessary at that particular stage. The crowd was not unruly. They were only shouting," the CHR added.

However, Soriano told reporters the findings were not yet final since the CHR in en banc had discussed the matter only once, on Oct. 17. They were expected to meet again later yesterday.

The initial consensus was not yet considered an advisory, he said. Last Oct. 21, the MPD filed charges of obstruction and violation of Batas Pambansa 880, or illegal assembly, against leaders of the Mendiola rally.

Charged were Sen. Jamby Madrigal, former Vice President Teofisto Guingona, former Pangasinan governor Oscar Orbos, party-list Reps. Riza Hontiveros-Baraquel and Ocampo, Fr. Robert Reyes, and group leaders Wilson Fortaleza, Rusty Delizo and Santiago and Sandra Cam.

Two security aides of Madrigal, PO2 Napoleon Simundo and Reynaldo Nanale, were also charged for violation of BP 880 for carrying guns within 100 meters of the rally site.

Video footage taken by the MPD showed Nanale was the man seen picking up a gun during the water dispersal incident, while Simundo was also caught on video footage carrying a gun.

Apart from the en banc, Soriano said there is also an ongoing public inquiry and fact-finding team looking into the Oct. 14 rally.

"We have already invited major players (for dialogue) such as... Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Arturo Lomibao, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and organizers of demonstrations."

If the CHR recommendation ultimately finds that police used excessive force or violently dispersed the rallyists without cause, they would provide the Department of Justice (DOJ) and DILG with copies of their report. The CHR has no prosecutorial functions and can only make recommendations.

The DILG is tasked to determine the possible administrative cases that can be lodged, while the DOJ will handle the criminal aspect of the case.

Last Oct. 21, the CHR also asked Bulaong to produce Superintendent Florencio Ortilla of the Jose Abad Santos police sub-station to verify if he was the one who ordered firemen to use water cannons to disperse the rallyists.

Meanwhile, the party-list group Bayan Muna assailed the police charges as harassment instigated by Malacañang.

In a statement, Bayan Muna Rep. Joel Virador said it was Malacañang which ordered the PNP to file charges against leaders and organizers of successive rallies that occurred on two successive Fridays, Oct. 14 and 21, and said the move is "nothing but plain harassment."

In a related development, the PNP will ask the DOJ and the Department of Foreign Affairs to determine if foreigners who joined the anti-government rallies last week committed any offenses.

PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Leopoldo Bataoil said it is up to the DOJ to recommend the nature of charges to be filed by the police against any foreigners.

So far, the PNP has only identified Bangladeshi national Badrul Ahlam as having participated in the rally. — Nestor Etolle, Evelyn Macairan, Cecille Suerte Felipe