AFP claims no harassment in arrest of activists

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Thursday maintained that there was no harassment involved in the recent arrests of around 60 activists in Bacolod and Manila.

In a statement, AFP Spokesperson Brigadier General Edgard Arevalo said the arrests were pursuant to the appropriate warrants issued by the court.

“That we submitted our application for Search Warrant (SW) to the scrutiny of the issuing judge and the latter finds probable cause to issue a SW shows that there are sufficient grounds to conduct the search,” he said.

On October 31, the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group-6, the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division, Joint Task Force-Negros, and Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office raided the offices of militant groups Kilusang Mayo Uno, Gabriela Negros Center, and Negros Federation of Sugar Workers.

On Tuesday morning, joint operatives of the Philippine National Police nabbed three activists from the office of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan in Tondo, Manila.

The Makabayan bloc of the House of Representatives has slammed the arrests as a crackdown on critics of the administration. 

Arevalo denied the activists' claims that pieces of evidence were planted by authorities in their offices as part of the “tanim ebidensya modus.”

“If they allege that the 32 firearms, 130 rounds of ammunition, and five pieces of explosives were planted by lawmen, they must prove so,” he said.

The AFP spokesperson added that the activist groups’ claims that they are legitimate organizations “do not make them exempted from legal processes.”

Malacañang earlier defended the arrests, saying that the government is mandated to probe criminal acts. 

Meanwhile, the National Union of People’s Lawyers urged the Supreme Court to review the issuance of the warrants for the said raids, which activists have dubbed “questionable.” — Julia Mari Ornedo/BM, GMA News