2 activists arrested in court for alleged cop mauling in 2020

Two labor leaders were arrested in Quezon City over their alleged involvement in a mauling and robbing incident against a police officer during a protest action in 2020, the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) said on Monday.

Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) international officer Kara Taggaoa and Pasiklab Operators and Drivers Association-PISTON (PASODA-PISTON) president Larry Balbuena were nabbed by the QCPD at the Quezon City Hall after the  QC Metropolitan Trial Court Branch 34 issued warrants of arrests against them.

Taggaoa, a resident of Project 3, was handcuffed at 10:18 a.m. while Balbuena, resident of Barangay Commonwealth, was apprehended at 10:30 a.m.

They are now both under the custody of the QCPD centralized custodial facility.

The two were in the QC court to attend the arraignment of a separate charge of robbery filed in connection with the same incident in July 2020.

The two allegedly robbed and mauled Police Chief Master Sergeant Feliciano Evangelio during a protest inside the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) compound in July 2020.

The Kilusang Mayo Uno and International League of Peoples’ Struggle - Philippines  (ILPS Philippines) “strongly” condemned the “indiscriminate” arrests of the labor leaders.

“Without the benefit of due process and without a preliminary investigation, the QCPD held a warrantless arrest on Taggaoa and Valbuena as they were apprehended before their warrants were presented only at Camp Caringal where they were detained for another trumped-up charges of direct assault,” ILPS Philippines said in a press statement.

“The police personnel’s justification of their arrests along with other human rights defenders, is a blatant manifestation of weaponizing the law to silence and repress those who criticize the government’s failed pandemic response, corruption, and trade union and human rights violations,” it added.

The group also called on the international community to strengthen their support for the activists and organized a donation drive for their bail money.—LDF, GMA News