Iloilo court junks simple disobedience case vs. 'Iloilo 42'

The Iloilo Municipal Trial Court has junked the simple disobedience case against 42 activists and journalists who were arrested during a protest event in 2020.

In a 24-page decision, the Iloilo City MTC acquitted all the accused for failure of the prosecution to prove their guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

"It is therefore clear that [the] accused… and the other media correspondents as well as other accused who were already inside their vehicles when the police started effecting their arrest at 11:15 AM could not be convicted of simple disobedience because they did not join the said rally," the court said.

"Mere presence at the scene of a crime at the time of its commission without proof of cooperation or agreement to cooperate is not enough to constitute one a party to a conspiracy," it added.

The case stemmed from the arrest made by policemen during a public demonstration in April 2020 at the Department of Social Welfare and Development in the city.

The court said the accused did not perform any act of disobedience during their time of arrest and before the arrest.

"Here, the video proves that all accused did not resist, employ force, defy, or refuse the arrest affected by the police officers,” it said.

Further, the court said that one of the accused shouting “Makibaka, huwag matakot!” when he was arrested could not be considered simple disobedience. It also noted that the accused obeyed and did not resist the arresting officer.

Meanwhile, the Panay Alliance Karapatan welcomed the decision.

However, it said that the acquittal is only a reminder that there are still injustices that must be addressed and that human rights violations are prevalent in the country.

“We call on the government to drop all the trumped-up charges against our fellow human rights defenders and the countless other innocent people now locked up in jail or mired in court cases,” the group said.

“We demand that the government end this campaign of persecution waged against progressive organizations and civil society at large. It would do well for those in power to remember that stifling dissent does not solve social ills but only worsens them” it added. —KBK, GMA News