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‘Mabinay 6’ plead not guilty


 

Youth activist Myles Albasin is escorted outside the Bais City Regional Trial Court on May 2, 2018 after pleading "not guilty" to the illegal possession of firearms and explosives charges against her. Photo: Raffy Cabristante
Youth activist Myles Albasin is escorted outside the Bais City Regional Trial Court on May 2, 2018 after pleading "not guilty" to the illegal possession of firearms and explosives charges against her. Photo: Raffy Cabristante

Youth leader Myles Albasin and her five co-accused on Wednesday pleaded not guilty to charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives.

Albasin, a youth leader and a fresh graduate of the University of the Philippines in Cebu, along with her five colleagues—Jomar Indico, Carlo Ybañes, Randel Hermino, Joey Vailoces, and Bernard Guillen—were arrested in a military operation in Barangay Luyang in Mabinay, Negros Oriental on March 3 on suspicion of being New People's Army (NPA) rebels.

Collectively known as the Mabinay 6, the accused appeared before Judge Rosario Carriaga of the Regional Trial Court Branch 45 in Bais City, their first court appearance since they were arrested.

They are set to appear in court again on July 11 for a pre-trial conference on their case, their legal counsel Benjamin Ramos told GMA News Online.

Their camp has also filed a petition for bail, pending a resolution from the court.

The trial was heavily guarded, with officials from the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), the Philippine Army's 62nd Infantry Battalion, and the police in full force.

Members of progressive groups, such as Bayan, Anakbayan, and Karapatan, staged a protest outside the courthouse, bearing placards appealing for the immediate release of the Mabinay 6. Among those who attended the arraignment was Karapatan Central Visayas secretary general Fritzy Pamulleno.

Ramos added that their camp is also planning to file a new motion for reconsideration to transfer the Mabinay 6 from the Bais City Jail back to the Negros Oriental Detention and Rehabilitation Center in Dumaguete City, where they were previously detained.

This was after Carriaga rendered their previous motion moot and academic, as it was filed when they were still at the NODRC and their request was to let them remain there. "Na-commit na kasi sila sa Bais, so di na puwede 'yung motion," Ramos said.

In line with this, the Mabinay 6 lawyer discussed the matter with Bais City Jail Warden Junior Inspector Jenesis Mongcopa right after the arraignment.

He said that his camp is planning to convince Mongcopa to file the motion to transfer the six back to NODRC only if the warden agrees that Albasin and her co-accused are safer there.

Ramos said that the six are much safer at the NODRC as it is in an urban environment, and they are concerned about the respondents' security as the Bais City Jail is located in the vicinity of a sugarcane field.

For his part, 303rd Infantry Brigade spokesperson Captain Ruel Llanes told GMA News Online in an interview that the military is ready to testify on the case if they are called to the stand.

"Na-turn over na namin ang kaso sa police. Maghihintay na lang kami kung kailan kami tatawagin as witness to the pre-trial," Llanes said.

Meanwhile, Ramos noted he is convinced that his being the legal counsel of Mabinay 6 has something to do with his inclusion in a poster spreading in some parts of Negros Occidental.

The poster listed the lawyer among "CNN personalities," or people allegedly involved in the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), NPA, and National Democratic Front (NDF).

"I am treating it as a harassment to prevent [me] from taking on human rights cases," said Ramos, who is the Secretary General for the Negros Occidental chapter of the National Union of People's Lawyers. — BM, GMA News

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