Group questions student activists’ arrest

MANILA, Philippines — The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) condemned yesterday what it described as the unlawful arrest of student activists during a lightning rally in front of the United States embassy in Manila on Tuesday.

ICHRP global council chairperson Peter Murphy said the arrest of Gabriel Magtibay of the Student Alliance for the Advancement of Democratic Rights in the University of the Philippines (UP) and Far Eastern University student Joanne Pagkaliwangan is a violation of the people’s freedom of assembly.

“This is stipulated in international human rights covenants ratified by the Philippines, such as Article 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,” Murphy said in a statement.

The students were detained at the Manila Police District (MPD) and charged with illegal assembly, vandalism and resisting arrest.

The city prosecutor has ordered the students’ release pending further investigation, according to a tweet by the UP Diliman’s Philippine Collegian.

The demonstration was held in protest of the Balikatan exercises involving 17,000 US and Filipino soldiers.

Maximum tolerance observed

The MPD observed maximum tolerance in arresting the students, MPD spokesman Maj. Philipp Ines said yesterday.

He said police had to act when the two students, along with 30 other protesters, threw paint at the emblem of the embassy.

“At that point, they had to react, and they had no choice but to arrest them,” he said in an interview over ABS-CBN News Channel.

In previous lightning rallies in areas not allowed by authorities, protesters were allowed for as long as they did not violate any law, Ines maintained.

In a statement yesterday, MPD director Brig. Gen. Andre Dizon said “every right and freedom of an individual has corresponding responsibility.”

He said rallies could be done in four “freedom parks,” namely Plaza Miranda, Liwasang Bonifacio, Plaza Dilao and Plaza Moriones.

Dizon said these parks are all “open to the public provided that they will adhere to the existing laws.” – Ghio Ong