PinoyAbrod.net

The students were subjected to abuse and intimidation, with one student choked by an officer in plainclothes while he was trying to explain. One student was also labelled as a “recruiter for the New Peoples’ Army.”

By JUSTIN UMALI
Bulatlat.com

SANTA ROSA, Laguna – Progressive groups in Iligan City refuteD claims by Iligan City Police regarding the June 12 arrest of 14 students who were protesting the Anti-Terrorism Bill.

On Friday, 16 students, among them members of Kabataan Partylist Northern Mindanao (KPL-NMR), staged a mañanita-style protest in barangay Palao, Iligan City which lasted five minutes.

According to the Iligan City Police Office (ICPO), the students were invited to ICPO Station 5 for “violating the health protocols on social distancing.”

KPL-NMR and the Students’ Alliance for the Advancement of Democratic Rights of MSU-IIT (STAND-IIT) disputed this, stating that the police’s statement was “misleading and is clearly meant to save face and make their warrantless arrest appear legitimate.”

“As shown in a video recorded by one of the protesters, the students were not invited, the police officers dragged them by the arm, caught them in a chokehold and when the students asked them on what grounds they were being arrested, the arresting officers couldn’t cite any violations,” read a joint statement by KPL-NMR and STAND-IIT.

One the officers even shouted “Shoot them!” while the students were being dragged.

This, despite the fact that the students were able to produce legal documents for their protest while observing strict physical distancing. The students were also given ten minutes to conduct their program but chose to stage a five-minute protest, intending to clear out immediately after.

The 14 arrested students were then detained without probable cause for roughly seven hours before they were released before 6 p.m. KPL-NMR and STAND-IIT state that the students were subjected to abuse and intimidation, with one student choked by an officer in plainclothes while he was trying to explain. One student was also labelled as a “recruiter for the New Peoples’ Army.”

The officers also confiscated the students’ phones and interrogated seven of them before legal counsel arrived, taking personal information from them. Their legal counsel Kristine Campilan stressed that the police officers were violating Republic Act 7438 by conducting a “custodial investigation without the assistance of counsel.”

KPL-NMR and STAND-IIT contend that the state is “trivializ[ing] the protests as mere violations of the government’s social distancing measures,” instead of “addressing the root issues surrounding them.”

“These draconian measures are but a taste of what the government and its fascist machinery can do should the railroaded Anti-Terrorism Bill be passed. It shows how they can set their very own laws aside if these contradict their interests,” their joint statement read.

Not the only case

Police have also used intimidation tactics against protesters in other parts of the country. In Tuguegarao City, police threatened members of Kabataan Partylist Cagayan Valley with arrests should they continue with their own mañanita.

In Manila, about 40 police officers were immediately deployed in response to a protest staged inside the De La Salle University – Manila campus. There were approximately 20 protesters conducting a short program, including former Deputy Speaker Atty. Erin Tañada.

In Manila’s San Pablo Apostol Church, UP Rises Against Tyranny and Dictatorship reported that police officers led by Station Commander Lt. Navidad and Vic Blanco confiscated placards from protesters despite observing proper social distancing measures.

Even the UP Diliman “grand mañanita” wasn’t safe. Quezon City Police Department officers blocked the entrances along the Commission of Human Rights and the Asian Center, blocking protesters from entering the campus.

These protests were part of a nationwide series of actions calling for the junking of the Anti-Terrorism Bill, which critics have repeatedly slammed as actually targeting activists.

The post Arrest of Iligan youth ‘baseless’– groups appeared first on Bulatlat.

By DEE AYROSO

The post Figures appeared first on Bulatlat.

By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO
Bulatlat.com

MANILA – Various groups assailed today yet another attack against press freedom in the country, with a Manila court handing down a guilty verdict against Rappler’s CEO Maria Ressa and their former researcher Reynaldo Santos Jr.

“This decision is an attack on all those who value a free press and free expression. The lawsuit happens within the larger context of political repression and the Duterte regime’s vindictiveness against media institutions and journalists critical of its ineptitude and callousness,” said Lisa Ito, secretary general of the Concerned Artists of the Philippines.

The cyberlibel charge stemmed from an article involving a business tycoon that was published four months before the passage of the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 and updated in 2017 to correct a mere typographical error.

Read: As court finds Rappler guilty of cyber libel, Ressa vows to keep on fighting

Both may face imprisonment for up to six years. They were allowed to post bail.

“The common responsibility of artists and journalists is the duty towards truth. We are disturbed how this further erodes any remaining semblance of democracy in Philippine society. Artists and cultural workers can not create freely in a society where the law is whimsically wielded to exact political repression and vengeance,” Ito said.
After dissenters

Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate said the guilty verdict can be taken as the “tightening of civil liberties” particulary of press freedom and freedom of expression.

“This decision is another nail on the press freedom coffin and is very dangerous not just for journalists but for everybody who uses social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. This verdict can be used to haul into court and jail anyone who exposes wrongdoing in government,” Zarate said.

Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay said the guilty verdict against Ressa and Santos, along with the gross rights violations and the looming passing of an anti-terror law, a full-blown dictatorship is “made more palpable.”

The College Editors’ Guild of the Philippines said the criminalized libel here in the Philippines have always been used to silence the press. Meanwhile, campus journalists said “purveyors of fake news and disinformation remain scot-free from offenses.”

The post Guilty verdict vs. Maria Ressa, reporter ‘an attack against all’ appeared first on Bulatlat.

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) said the trial was “a test run for the latest weapon the State can now wield to intimidate and silence not only the media but all citizens who call out government abuse.”

By RONALYN V. OLEA
Bulatlat.com

MANILA – A few minutes after the Manila court issued its verdict, Rappler CEO Maria Ressa told colleagues the decision is not unexpected and that they will continue fighting.

In a 37-page decision, Judge Reinalda Estacio-Montesa of Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 46 convicted Ressa and former researcher-writer Reynaldo Santos Jr. of cybel libel over an article published four months before the enactment of Cybercrime Law, which penalizes cybel libel one degree higher than ordinary libel.

Businessman Wilfredo Keng filed the case in October 2017, or five years after the publication of the report. In its decision, the Manila court rules that the update on the article on February 19, 2014 constitutes “republication” and maintains that the testimony of Rappler senior editor Rosario Hofileña as mere hearsay. Hofileña testified in court that Rappler only corrected a typographical error in Febuary 2014 and did not make substantial changes in the story.

The court handed down an indeterminate penalty of imprisonment ranging from six months and one day to six years as maximum. Ressa’s lawyer Theodore Te said the court allowed Ressa and Santos to remain free on bail. Judge Estacio-Montesa also ordered Ressa and Santos to pay P200,000 moral damages and P200,000 exemplary damages to Keng.

Ressa faced reporters gathered at the Manila City Hall and said, “This is not unexpected…But this is the first…. plus a whole slew of tax evasion and securities fraud. I became a criminal in one year.”

Eleven other criminal and administrative charges have been filed against Rappler. Ressa posted bail eight times for her temporary liberty.

“Rappler has been under attack for four years,” Ressa said.

Ressa recalled how President Rodrigo Duterte publicly issued tirades against Rappler for its coverage on drug-related extrajudicial killings. She criticized what she calls as “weaponization of the law” against the media.

Not only about Rappler

Ressa maintained that the cyber libel case also affects ordinary citizens. “Tungkol po ito sa inyo. (This is also about you) If we can’t do our job, then your rights will be lost.”

She also called on fellow journalists “to protect your rights.”

Ressa said the shutdown of ABS-CBN was unimaginable. On May 5, the National Telecommunications Commission issued a cease and desist order against media giant ABS-CBN.

“We are then the cautionary tale. We shouldn’t even be momentarily giving up our rights,” Ressa said, citing the impending passage of anti-terror bill which critics say will further criminalize free speech and expression.

In a statement, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) said the decision “basically affirms the State’s manipulation and weaponization of the law to stifle criticism and dissent…”

The NUJP added the decision is a dangerous precedent, saying that the trial was “a test run for the latest weapon the State can now wield to intimidate and silence not only the media but all citizens who call out government abuse.”

The group is referring to the anti-terror bill which contains provisions such as “inciting to terrorism.”

Altermidya, the national network of alternative media outfits said, “This guilty verdict on Rappler’s case is another blow to press freedom and free expression in the country. But this will certainly not deter the media community in resisting repression.”

“Taken as a whole, this barrage of legal cases and accusations against Rappler, ABS-CBN, and other independent journalists is clearly a part of the administration’s continuing attack against the media — with a determined aim of instilling fear among media practitioners committed to reporting the truth and holding the administration into account,” Altermidya said.

The post As court finds Rappler guilty of cyber libel, Ressa vows to keep on fighting appeared first on Bulatlat.

By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO
Bulatlat.com

MANILA – Members of the religious community are among those who have opposed and joined the growing clamor to stop the signing into law the controversial anti-terror bill, saying this will threaten the people’s “hard won freedoms.”

“So we fight the virus, we fight policies that keep our people poor, and we fight the anti-terror bill that threatens our hard won freedoms,” said Manila Bishop Broderick Pabillo in a statement.

Critics of the looming passage of the Anti-Terror Bill held a protest action on Friday, June 12, in the University of the Philipppines – Diliman. Dubbed as Grand Mañanita, a reference to the birthday party held for a ranking police official amid strict lockdown, various groups observed physical distancing and use of face masks, face shields, alcohol, and sanitizer.

Read: Critics of anti-terror bill stage party-themed protest

The bill has been transmitted to President Rodrigo Duterte for signing, after it was certified as urgent and a priority.

The Francescan community in the Philippines found it terrifying that lawmakers have turned their attention to the passing of a bill supposedly against terrorism when it has yet to look into mass testing, provision of decent accommodations for Filipino migrant workers, efficient mass transportation for returning workers, to name a few.

“Let our government leaders obey God’s commands by using its resources and energy to address the most pressing needs of our nation. Many are already terrorized, physically and psychologically. And this House Bill 6875 has terrorized our already terrorized people,” the Inter-Franciscan Ministers’ Conference of the Philippines (IFMCP) and Franciscan Solidarity Movement for Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation (FSMJPIC) said in a joint statement.

Who are the real targets?

In a statement, the Philippine Council for Evangelical Churches, through its national director Bishop Noel Pantoja, said they recognize the vital need to render terrorism a crime as it brings about senseless destruction not just to individuals but also to communities as seen during the Marawi siege.

However, Bishop Pantoja pointed out the vague definition of terrorism as seen in the proposed law and the extended period of warrantless detentions have brought them apprehensions as it may open the way for “serious abuses of a person’s rights and dignity.”

With the expanded definition of terrorism, the Missionary Benedictine Sisters of the Manila Priory said the real targets of the proposed law are the dissenters, political opposition, critics, activists, among others.

“Democracy essentially includes dissent and critique. To make this unlawful is to kill democracy,” the Benedictine nuns said in a statement, adding that if this is signed into a law, it will “sow fear and widespread panic and therefore will give rise to another kind of terrorism: state terrorism.”

Veto the bill

The Philippine Ecumenical Peace Platform has earllier appealed to President Duterte to “hear the voices of Filipinos who bear the promise of peace in their hearts and veto this Bill when it comes to him for action.”

“At times like these, the Anti-Terrorism Bill will not serve to end the conflicts of our land. The meager resources of government are most needed not for anti-terror expenditures but for setting and re-building the economic and social structures that everyone needs as we fight the pandemic before us,” the PEPP said.

Bishop Pantoja said, “We believe that at the very least the Anti-Terrorism Act needs to undergo a much more extensive process of consultation and deliberation.”

The post Anti-terror bill threatens hard won freedoms – bishop appeared first on Bulatlat.