Court clears 43 farmers in 2016 clash with cops

MANILA, Philippines — A local court has cleared 43 farmers accused of assaulting police officers during a protest rally in Kidapawan City, Cotabato in April 2016.

The farmers were seeking food assistance in the face of a five-month drought that was affecting the province at the time.

In a ruling promulgated on May 18 and released only yesterday, Kidapawan City Municipal Trial Court in Cities Presiding Judge Rebecca Elena de Leon granted the demurrer to evidence filed by the farmers.

De Leon dismissed the charges of direct assault upon an agent of a person in authority filed against the farmers for lack of evidence.

A demurrer, when granted, paves way for the dismissal of the case without requiring the accused to present defense.

Records showed the farmers hurled stones at the police and fire officers, who asked them to disperse and clear the highway for motorists on April 1, 2016, the fourth day of the protest.

The dispersal was marred by shots from the police side and stone-throwing from the protesters.

Two farmers were killed in the incident while more than a hundred others were injured.

“While there is no dispute that the complaining law enforcers were hit by stones thrown at them by the protesters, the prosecution failed to prove the identities of the persons responsible for the acts complained of,” the ruling read.

It said the testimonies of the witnesses only showed how the accused ended up arrested, that there was an altercation between the officers and the protesters before stones were hurled.

The court said the prosecution’s evidence showed that the police’s witnesses did not see who threw stones at them, but arrests were made.

Thousands of farmers blocked the Cotabato-Davao Highway to demand action from the government on the hunger they were experiencing as a result of the drought.

Authorities said at least 5,000 farmers joined the protest including those who gathered in front of the office of the National Food Authority in Kidapawan.

The incident prompted a Senate hearing as well as an investigation by the Commission on Human Rights, which said both sides engaged in violence. – Kristine Joy Patag/Philstar.com