After the recent court hearing on the trumped up charges against four peasant organizers at the Regional Trial Court Branch 47 in San Fernando, Pampanga, KARAPATAN condemned the elements of the Philippine National Police (PNP) who planted evidence and staged a crime scene to incriminate the activists they had targeted for arbitrary arrest and detention.
On July 29, 2024, at around 9:30 in the evening, police blocked the vehicle of peasant activists Oliver Milo, Andres Ely and Theresa Buscayno who were traveling along with Desiree Jaranilla- Patuñ-og to Mexico, Pampanga. The police claimed that they were on a manhunt operation based on a “tip” from a “trusted source.”
Based on the affidavits of the arresting officers, the arrest happened at 12:35 in the morning of July 30, 2024. However, witnesses confirmed that their vehicle had already been flagged earlier, at around 10 in the evening of July 29, 2024 and that there was a commotion involving a number of vehicles.
It was during this time that Milo, Ely, Buscayno, Patuñ-og and their driver were forcibly taken out of their vehicle by the arresting officers. Ely, Milo and the driver were beaten by the operatives while all of the victims were interrogated once the police had acquired complete custody of their vehicle and personal belongings.
After a few hours, they were herded back inside their vehicle while in handcuffs. Meanwhile, a police officer was seated at the back portion of their vehicle waiting for the go-signal from the ground team leader that would prompt the other arresting officers and the videographer to alight from the police vehicles to set up a “real-time” flagging of the vehicle.
“This is the same modus operandi employed by the police and military in the case of six human rights defenders arrested in Puerto Princesa, Palawan in October 2019,” said Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay. “Collectively known as the Palawan 6, the victims were arrested without warrant at a checkpoint in Barangay Babuyan, Puerto Princesa. The police seized their belongings, brought them to a detachment and later loaded them aboard vehicles that brought them to another checkpoint in Barangay San Jose where they were supposedly flagged down and arrested.” Needless to say, said Palabay, the ‘crime scene’ was staged and all the evidence planted.
Like the four Central Luzon activists, the Palawan 6 were arrested following a tip from a police informant who was never presented in court.
“Despite the Supreme Court ruling requiring the use of body-worn cameras during police operations,” stressed Palabay, “the police have always found ways to circumvent this requirement. In the case of the four Central Luzon activists,” she pointed out, “the videographer purposely delayed recording the incident to accomplish their villainous objective of staging the arrest and seizure of Milo, Ely, Buscayno and Patuñ-og.”
“Karapatan urges the court hearing the cases against the Central Luzon activists to carefully look into the incredible testimonies of the prosecution witnesses and to ultimately dismiss these cases,” concluded Palabay.