Nograles, 4 others face raps for violent dispersal at Batasan

MANILA, Philippines - Speaker Prospero Nograles along with four other officials are facing charges at the Commission on Human Rights for the alleged violent dispersal last May 22 of farmers who have been camping out in front of the Batasan Pambansa complex since late April.

Six farmers groups held Nograles, House secretary-general Marilyn Yap, sergeant-at-arms Brig. Gen. Horacio Lactao, a certain Col. Flores and Escandor of the Legislative Security Bureau, responsible for injuring 10 persons, including a minor.

The complainants include Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, Pambansang Lakas ng mga Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas, Amihan-National Federation of Peasant Women, Kalipunan ng mga Samahang Magbubukid ng Timog Katagalugan, National Network of Agrarian Reform Advocates-Youth, and Crispin Beltran Resource Center.

“While in the act of dispersing the farmers and destroying their makeshift structures, the policemen, security guards and members of the (Special Action Force) were also continuously hitting them with their truncheons and shield and with the water from the fire truck,” they alleged.

According to the complainants, their dispersal “violated” their rights to “peaceably assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances,” and their “freedom of expression.”

In a related development, House guards yesterday dispersed defiant farmers and fired water canons at them. This was the same group who camped in front of the Batasan complex to call for the passage of House Bill 4077, authored by Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman and Akbayan Rep. Risa Hontiveros, which seeks reforms in the 21-year-old Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).

The water hit Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo and several nuns who were with the farmers. Pabillo and the nuns were later allowed inside for yesterday’s session.

Nograles: Farmers abused our rights, too

Nograles welcomed the charges, saying it will give them the opportunity to rebut the accusations hurled against them.

“We will answer the charges, we welcome them, so we can find out who abused who but let it be very clear that the House premises is not their sleeping quarters, their comfort room and their garbage bin. That’s against our human rights too,” he said. “The House members and the institution also have human rights like everyone else.”

Nograles said “it is not our wish for the police and the House security to forcibly disperse them because as far as I know, we have exhausted all appeals for them to vacate the House gates peacefully but to no avail.”

“We have even tolerated them when they entered the compound to conduct a lighting strike right in front of the session hall even if this was a clear violation of existing security protocol,” Nograles, a human rights lawyer himself, said. “We also have our rights to do our jobs unhampered by them.”