With raps against them junked, activists to sue Manila cops over Pride march arrests
MANILA, Philippines — The Office of the City Prosecutor of Manila dismissed on Tuesday a complaint filed by the Manila Police District against 17 LGBTQ+ activists and allies who were arrested at a community-organized protest and Pride March against the controversial anti-terror bill in June.
"Now that the vile, false charges against us have been dropped, it’s time we go on the full offensive. We move forward with our countercharges against the Manila Police! Pagbabayarin natin ang mga dapat managot!" Bahaghari secretary-general Rey Valmores-Salinas said on Twitter.
"The ruling is, most of all, a vindication: there is nothing wrong about protesting. There is nothing wrong with demanding equality. There is nothing wrong with speaking out," she also said.
To recall, 20 protesters from groups Bahaghari, Gabriela and the Children’s Rehabilitation Center were arrested by elements of the Manila Police District in late June for taking part in a community-organized protest against the controversial and hotly-contested anti-terror bill. Only 17 were charged as the remaining three were minors, according to reports.
Cops said the arrests were made because the protesters committed quarantine violations and had nothing to do with the bill being protested, which the Philippine National Police continues to staunchly defend on its official social media channels. In videos of the incident that circulated online after the arrests, police are seen refusing to answer the media when asked which quarantine guidelines were violated by the demonstrators.
JUSTICE PREVAILS — The Manila Office of the City Prosecutor DISMISSES the trumped-up charges filed by the Manila Police against Pride 20!#FreePride20#JunkTerrorLaw#FreeAllPoliticalPrisoners
— Bahaghari #AchibDisBill (@Bahaghari_PH) December 29, 2020
READ: https://t.co/ELEa0UlqpE pic.twitter.com/7vFIYOBYnJ
Police Brig. Gen. Rolly Miranda, MPD chief at the time, told reporters later on that the protesters were arrested for not having a rally permit and for violating general community quarantine guidelines, though LGBT organization Bahaghari, whose members were participants at the protest and among those arrested, held that social distancing protocols were observed.
Manila police later filed a complaint of illegal assembly under Batasang Pambansa 880—a Marcos-era law—and disobedience in relation to the Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases Act, or Republic Act No. 11332.
But Assistant City Prosecutor Kristine Ria Cirilo contended in her resolution that the protesters could not be held liable for illegal assembly despite not having a permit because the police complainants failed to identify the organizers of the demonstration.
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In the now-dismissed case of activists arrested on their way to a relief operation in Norzagaray, Bulacan in June for violating the same law held against the Pride 20, Norzagaray Municipal Trial Court Judge Julie Rita Badillo wrote in her decision that:
The facts charged in the Information do not constitute an offense under Section 9(d) of RA 11332.
Republic Act 11332 refers to mandatory reporting of health information about the notifiable diseases as well as cooperation to the response systems to health related events...While such act illustrates defiance to the open directive to observe the enhanced community quarantine, such infraction does not fall under the prohibited acts of RA 11332.
Examining the policy and objectives o RA 11332 vis-a-vis the facts alleged in the Information, the Court believes that travelling outside the residence without travel permit or quarantine pass does not qualify as violation [of the said provision.]
“The fight is far from over,” Salinas also said in a statement.
“The material conditions that have driven us to speak out—the militarized handling of the COVID-19 pandemic including the recent VIP vaccination for the police and military, the near-total lack of economic aid for families in need, and now the legalization of state terrorism in the form of the Anti-Terrorism Law as well as heightened attacks on government critics—persist. And so, too, shall we continue to fight back, and proudly raise our rainbow flags in the streets in pursuit of justice for all,” she said.
— Franco Luna with reports from Kristine Joy Patag and The STAR/Marc Jayson Cayabyab
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