9 punks freed from Benguet jail

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet — Nine young backpacker-punks jailed at the Benguet provincial jail for allegedly raiding a military detachment in Mankayan town last February were freed Wednesday noon.

Veteran human rights lawyer Reynaldo Cortes, regional chairman of both the Free Legal Assistance Group and the Cordillera Human Rights Alliance, said, "The wheels of justice may grind slowly but at least they still grind."

The nine punks were finally free after 10 months in jail after Judge Benigno Galacgac of the Benguet Regional Trial Court Branch 63 dismissed the arson and homicide charges filed against them. — Artemio Dumlao