ILOILO City – Recently, an RTC in Capiz quashed[1] multiple search warrants used by the PNP and the AFP in the bloody joint-operation on December 30 last year, that left 9 Tumandok dead, and 16 more arrested. The trial court said the warrants were defective, and ordered the release of the Tumandok who had been detained as a result of their enforcement.
When asked to comment[2] on this matter, PNP-PRO 6 spokesperson Joem Malong and 3rd Infantry Division spokesperson Cenon Pancito III were quick to point to the plea-bargaining resorted to by some of the Tumandok in order to secure their early release.
Malong and Pancito claimed that the plea-bargaining shows that the Tumandok victims were indeed guilty of crimes.
Malong also described the motions to quash filed by the other Tumandok as “loopholes” used to gain their freedom.
Now, being the mouthpiece of an agency famous for human rights violations, Malong may find this a bit hard to understand, so we’ll make this plain.
These “loopholes” she referred to, are what freedom-loving Filipinos call CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS. They are enshrined in the 1987 Constitution because the framers knew that abuses would likely be committed by the government. So, our laws include remedies to address these abuses and guarantee people’s liberties.
And as to the claim that the plea-bargaining confirms the PNP and the AFP’s narrative, it is worth pointing out that the Tumandok who were arrested, as well as their families and communities, had professed their innocence[3] since the beginning.
Just like in the cases of the innocent people arrested under the Duterte administration’s war on drugs, a plea-bargain may be resorted to merely because the accused wants to get out of jail as early as possible. It does not mean that the case against him was proven.
Everyone knows how slowly the wheels of justice turn in this country. An innocent person can plea-bargain simply to avoid spending years or even decades in jail while his case drags on.
When you jail people and threaten that they cannot get out unless they plea-bargain, there is nothing voluntary about that deal.
When you kill Tumandok leaders, deploy military troops to their communities, and threaten their families while the case is ongoing, that is not a voluntary agreement.
When a potential witness[4] who claimed that the PNP’s evidence was planted is MURDERED just before trial, as was the fate of Brgy. Captain Julie Catamin, and one of the lawyers handling the case is almost killed in an assassination attempt[5], just like what happened to Atty. Angelo Karlo Guillen, any plea-bargaining deal becomes questionable at best.
Malong and Pancito see plea-bargaining as confirmation of guilt. What we see are acts of desperation from innocent people who were languishing in jail.
Clearly, there is a problem if the police and the military see constitutional rights as mere “loopholes”.
There is a problem when those who are supposed to protect you, instead, massacre your leaders, then arrest you, terrorize your family and community, tell you to plea-bargain, and then celebrate this as some sort of moral victory.
Indeed, the remarks of Malong and Pancito speak volumes about the PNP and the AFP. But then again, what can we expect from institutions implicated in countless human rights violations like murder, sexual abuse, abductions, and evidence-planting?
With remarks like these, no wonder the International Criminal Court is getting involved. Because obviously, in this country, those who are supposed to bring justice and enforce the law have become the agents of injustice and the very threat to the rule of law.###
References:
CRIMSON LABINGHISA
Convenor, Defend Panay Network
JOHN IAN ALENCIAGA
Convenor, Defend Panay Network
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[2] https://www.panaynews.net/pro-6-quashing-of-tumandok-search-warrants-doesnt-affect-anything/
[4] https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1401672/key-witness-in-tumandok-killings-in-capiz-shot-dead
[5] https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2021/03/04/2081926/tumandok-land-defenders-lawyer-stabbed-ilolilo
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