Ibon has CHR, barangay watchmen inspect premises amid alleged police harassment

Local think tank IBON Foundation on Friday had members of the Commission on Human Rights and barangay officials over inspect its offices in Quezon City in the wake of a series searches at the premises of militant groups in the country.

According to Xandra Casambre, communication officer of IBON, the institution decided to invite the said parties to thwart any possibility of getting planted with evidence by the police as allegedly experienced by many other progressive groups.

"Nag-come about 'yang apprehension na 'yan bunga ng yesterday, we got a call from a certain Colonel Joaquin Alva notifying us that they are looking for someone with a criminal case in the building," Casambre told GMA News Online.

She added that IBON was advised that the police will be conducting an ocular inspection at the third floor of its office building to look for a certain person with a pending case.

"There was increased vigilance on our part na we cannot just let that ocular inspection happen na wala kaming precautionary measures so we anticipated na pwedeng hindi lang 'yung third floor 'yung i-so called ocular nila," she said.

IBON's office is on the fourth floor of the same building.

Casambre refused to disclose the identity of the person whom the police claims to be facing a criminal case.

She said that the group whom that person belongs to already vacated the building premises three months ago.

The barangay officials who participated in the IBON-initiated probe on Friday were escorted by policemen.

Casambre, however, underscored that the cops did not enter the building premises and patiently waited across the street as the activity was conducted.

After thorough inspection of the building, nothing alarming was found.

"After the inspection, both the barangay and the CHR certified that IBON legitimately serves as an education and advocacy institution just doing its work," she said.

IBON also denounced the red-tagging it supposedly gets from the state security forces.

"We categorically deny that. We demand them to show its truckloads of evidence against us, which they've never done tapos all that they could show were bits and pieces of nakakatawang accusations," Casambre said.

Militant groups have condemned the recent arrests of around 60 activists in Bacolod and Manila.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines, on the other hand, maintained that there was no harassment involved in the said operations. —NB, GMA News