KARAPATAN and the Samahan ng mga Ex-Detainee Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto (SELDA), an organization of former political prisoners, welcomed the San Fernando Regional Trial Court Branch 47’s decision to grant the demurrer to evidence of four peasant rights activists arrested in Mexico, Pampanga in July 2024 on trumped-up charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives.
A demurrer to evidence, when granted, results in the dismissal of a case and the defendants’ acquittal due to lack of evidence.
“Again, another group of activists slapped with trumped-up charges on the basis of planted evidence, has been exonerated,” said SELDA vice chairperson Danilo dela Fuente. “Spurious charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives have always been resorted to by state authorities when they cannot allege other crimes against targeted personalities.”
The acquitted activists — Desiree Jaranilla-Patuñ-og who was a UP Student Regent, Theresa Buscayno, Andres Ely and Oliver Millo — collectively known as the Mexico 4, were aboard a vehicle traveling in Mexico, Pampanga on the night of July 29, 2024 when they were flagged by police officers who forcibly took them out and arrested them. The arresting team took possession of their vehicle and personal belongings and later staged the recovery and seizure of firearms, ammunitions and explosives.
Meanwhile, the assigned videographer by the arresting team, who was boarded in a separate vehicle, was waiting for the go-signal from the ground team leader that would prompt the other arresting officers to simulate the “real-time” flagging of the vehicle on midnight of July 30, when in fact the all the passengers were arrested a few hours before and evidence had been planted by the police.
“This old and worn-out modus of staging a crime scene and planting of evidence is not new, especially during checkpoints and raids of houses and offices of activists. Even with the use of body-worn camera during arrest and search, as mandated by the Supreme Court, the authorities still managed to plant evidence,” said Cristina Palabay, Karapatan Secretary General.
The court also noted that the testimonies of the prosecution witnesses were “inconsistent on material points.”
“The police were caught in their own web of lies when presented in court and was confronted with the videos from the body-worn camera, where it was apparent that they manipulated the crime scene and planted firearms and explosives,” Palabay said.
The videos revealed that Patuñ-og, Buscayno, Ely and Millo were already handcuffed at the time they were taken out of the vehicle and they have no full control of their belongings which allowed the CIDG to plant firearms and explosives inside the vehicle and their bags.
“Based on the evidence adduced, the accused were not in possession of any of the alleged firearms and explosives. There is no clear showing that the accused carried any prohibited items inside the vehicle at the time of their arrest and search,” the court said.
As of this writing, Jaranilla-Patuñ-og and Buscayno had been released from the Pampanga Provincial Jail, where they have been detained for more than a year, while Ely and Millo remain in jail due to other trumped up charges.
“The case of the Mexico 4 is emblematic of the Marcos regime’s policy and practice of planting evidence and concocting fabricated testimonies to arbitrarily arrest and imprison community organizers who they label as terrorists. Majority of the 737 political prisoners are in jail due to similar practices,” KARAPATAN said.
The Marcos regime’s National Action Plan on Unity, Peace and Development, Palabay said, reinforces this policy and practice by outlining the role of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict in undertaking “legal offensives” against so-called communist terrorist groups.
“Political prisoners spend years behind bars for crimes they did not commit. Most importantly, all those involved in the planting of evidence must be held accountable, including the Philippine National Police and the NTF-ELCAC. Like the case of Mexico 4, all other political prisoners who were also planted evidence and charged with trumped-up charges must be immediately released and the courts must act swiftly to dismiss their cases, because a day that they spend in jail is injustice,” ended Palabay.