Tarlac police chief: Raps vs activists not fabricated

ANGELES CITY, Philippines – The police director of Tarlac yesterday debunked reports that police fabricated charges against nine activists arrested in Hacienda Luisita, saying they have enough evidence to prove charges of “malicious mischief” against them.

Reached by The STAR while being treated for an illness in a hospital in Tarlac, Senior Superintendent Alfred Corpuz said police dropped charges of robbery against the activists, as this would require them to post up to P100,000 bail each.

Sister Cecile Ruiz, who chairs the human rights group Karapatan, said the activists were released the other day after posting bail of only P2,000 each at the regional trial court in Tarlac City.

The Tarlac City police chief initially filed a robbery case after he allegedly lost two of his cell phones while policemen were arresting the activists Tuesday morning.

Corpuz, however, said the activists were charged with malicious mischief and assault on persons in authority, requiring only smaller bail.

He said the malicious mischief charge was filed by the Cojuangco-owned Tarlac Development Corp. (Tadeco), which owns Hacienda Luisita that the Supreme Court, in a 2011 decision, ordered to be distributed to farm workers under the land reform program.

The Tarlac City police chiefwas the complainant in the assault case, he said.

Earlier, the activists alleged that the charges against them were fabricated, citing in particular the initial case of robbery involving a cell phone that a policeman lost during a commotion as the activists were being arrested.

Corpuz lamented what he alleged to be media bias against the police, saying the Tarlac policemen “were merely doing their job.”

“There was a call for help from Tadeco which accused the activists of destroying three watchtower posts in the hacienda, so the police merely had to respond to the case. Security guards witnessed this and they had photos,” he said.

Reacting to the activists’ call for Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas to fire him over the Hacienda Luisita incident, Corpuz said, “We are under the PNP organization and we obey whatever our superior tells us.”