Capiz court quashes search warrants for nabbed Tumandok tribe members

A Capiz court has voided the search warrants that were used to arrest some members of the Tumandok tribe in December last year.

Judge Rommel Leonor of the Mambusao, Capiz Regional Trial Court Branch 21 quashed the search warrants for illegal possession of firearms and explosives against Rollen Catamin, Jucie Caro, Eleuteria Caro, Marilou Catamin, and Marivic Aguirre, thus allowing them to be released from detention.

In separate resolutions dated June 15, Leonor said that the warrants issued by a Manila court to search the houses of the Tumandok members failed to satisfy the constitutional requirement because they did not provide specific descriptions of the residences.

Leonor said all evidence gathered during the “illegal search” could not be used against the five individuals.

In a statement, Bayan Muna Representative Carlos Zarate said: "This is a very positive development and a major push back against the evil machinations of the NTF-ELCAC (National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict). We trust that more and more dismissals of search warrants, arrest warrants and trumped up charges are in the offing as more judges are seeing the modus of the NTF-Palpak."

“This victory is in addition to the Supreme Court's recent order disallowing executive judges of Manila and Quezon cities  from issuing warrants outside of their jurisdictions, as well as ordering the PNP (Philippine National Police) to wear body cams in their operations," he added.

The simultaneous police operations in Tapaz, Capiz, and Calinog, Iloilo on December 30, 2020 left nine Tumandok leaders dead and led to the arrest of 17 individuals.

According to the Western Visayas police, the nine fatalities were suspected communist rebels.

Peasant organization Pamanggas rejected this claim, saying the fatalities were “unarmed" and "noncombatants.” -MDM, GMA News