Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 7) — The University of the Philippines Cebu administration on Sunday demanded the immediate release of the activists arrested during the June 5 protest against the Anti-Terrorism Bill.
In a statement, UP Cebu denounced the city police’s violent dispersal and “undue” arrest of its students and alumni, along with four others, saying the individuals were simply “exercising their right to peaceful assembly.”
“Our students are not criminals and they were despicably manhandled by police force who were in full battle gear and heavy firearms during the arrest. This is totally unacceptable,” the statement read.
The university administration stressed that the right to express one’s view publicly and to hold peaceful protests is not prohibited by any law.
One of those arrested, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan Central Visayas Secretary General Jaime Paglinawan, earlier maintained that they practiced social distancing measures during the rally. This adherence to the health protocol was also evident in photos of the protest that circulated on social media.
UP Cebu called on Mayor Edgar Labella and the Chief of the Cebu City Police to investigate the “clear transgression” of the policemen against the university’s constituents and properties.
The city police violated the 1989 UP-Department of National Defense Accord, which prohibits the entry of police and military in the UP system’s campuses without authorization, it said. The school administration also noted that some police personnel who apprehended the protesters were even in civilian clothing.
Echoing the call of its students, UP Cebu in its statement expressed opposition to the proposed anti-terrorism bill, writing that the “reported cases of abuse of authority by state officials and their agents, all the more demonstrate, as an essential activity, the right to peaceful protest in an outdoor setting.”
Cebu-based stringer Dale Israel contributed to this report.
The seven activists and one bystander who were arrested are currently still detained at the Cebu City Police Office Station 3.
They now face criminal charges for allegedly violating provisions of “The Public Assembly Act of 1985,” the “Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act,” and Article 151 of the Revised Penal Code, which penalizes resistance and disobedience of person of authority or agents of such person.
