15 hurt as cops disperse rally

Fifteen people, including a priest, a seminarian and a church worker, were hurt when police broke up a rally of multisectoral groups in front of a church in Malate, Manila yesterday.

Ironically, the rallyists were made up by members of church groups condemning the Arroyo administration’s alleged political repression and harassment of church people.

Rally leaders claimed 11 of their members sustained injuries during the dispersal. Police said four officers were hurt.

Three of those hurt on the side of the rallyists were identified as Fr. Allan Jose Arcebuche, 43, the assistant parish priest of the Our Lady of the Abandoned Church in Sta. Ana, Manila; Benedicto Zaragosa, 35, a Carmelite seminarian; and church lay leader Bro. Edwin Egar, 39.

Arcebuche received serious blows from truncheon on both legs, arms, head and body, while seminarian Zaragosa sustained a gaping wound in the head from a truncheon blow. Egar complained of an aching head and back after he was allegedly repeatedly hit with truncheons by policemen.

The three were also arrested by the police and charged with illegal assembly.

Arcebuche, national chairman of the Promotion of Church People’s Response (PCPR), denounced the brutal dispersal of the police on the rallyists composed mostly of priests, nuns and church members.

He said there was no reason for the police to violently disperse them since they were "holding a peaceful denunciation of the government’s human rights abuses" on the sidewalk of the Our Lady of Remedios church in front of the Raha Sulayman park in Malate.

While admitting that their group had no permit for the rally, he said their leaders were negotiating with police officials to give them additional minutes to air their grievances when they were dispersed.

"Nakita ko na duguan yung seminarian, at lumapit ako para tulungan siya pero pinagpapalo na ako ng mga pulis kahit bagsak na ako. Kinaladkad din nila ako papunta sa kanilang sasak-yan habang hatak nila ako sa aking abito," Arcebuche said.

He also learned from his members that their attackers were operatives of the Western Police District’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit (CIDU), headed by Superintendent Co Yee Co. He said he saw Co giving orders to his non-uniformed operatives to attack and beat the rallyists.

When reached for comment, Co just laughed off the accusation, saying, "Maniwala ka sa chismis. Sabi nila yun (referring to the rallyists). Eto nga wala ako sa uniporme tapos magbibigay pa ako ng order," Co said.

He added four Manila policemen were hurt during the dispersal since the rallyists allegedly threw rocks at police. Two of those hurt were identified as PO1 Dennis Gonzales and PO1 Joseph Buan.

Later in the afternoon, some 1,000 protesters belonging to cause-oriented groups Bayan Muna, Gabriela and Migrante waved banners and carried 13 cardboard coffins representing their slain colleagues at the WPD headquarters along United Nations Avenue. They demanded the release of the three arrested church group members.

WPD chief of staff Senior Superintendent Elmer Jamias took charge of the security of the headquarters premises and negotiated with the rallyists together with Superintendent Arturo Paglinawan.

Party-list Reps. Satur Ocampo and Teddy Casino represented the rallyists in the negotiation.

A firetruck was also placed on standby inside the police headquarters, while Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) personnel guarded strategic areas.

Rally leaders said their legal counsels are now preparing appropriate charges against the Manila police, specifically the chief and members of the CIDU.

The rallyists dispersed peacefully after more than two hours of denouncing the alleged police brutality, and tying up traffic along the stretch of United Nations Avenue.

Police also blocked groups of rallyists at the Isla Puting Bato in Tondo, Welcome Rotonda and Arellano street in San Andres.

Rallyists released

After almost five hours of detention, the Franciscan priest and two other members of church groups that participated in the rally were released by the WPD.

Jamias negotiated with Bayan Muna General Counsel Neri Colmenares and other militant leaders in an effort to come to an agreement regarding the release of the three arrested rallyists.

Jamias said they agreed to release the three men only after they received medical treatment at the Ospital ng Maynila. They passed through the back gate of the police district at around 3:30 p.m. and were escorted by police mobiles to the hospital.

The WPD official said they would file charges against the three men for violating Batas Pambansa 888, or the no permit, no rally policy, resisting arrest and obstruction.

Jamias said they are not discounting the possibility that the militants would file counter-charges against them, particularly against the policemen who allegedly inflicted injury against Arcebuche and other militants.

"The WPD exercised maximum tolerance. We will wait for them to first file a complaint against the policemen before we conduct an investigation," Jamias added.

In return, the militants agreed to order the estimated 300 rallyists to stop their demonstration and leave United Nations Avenue. The militants decided to stage their demonstration in front of the WPD headquarters to protest the apprehension of Arcebuche, Zaragosa and Egar.