The police used “old and discredited bases” to arrest two elderly development workers in Ajuy, Iloilo over the Holy Week, the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) said.
NUPL president Atty. Ephraim Cortez said the Philippine National Police (PNP) did not bother to present new bases for arresting Josephine Porra Porquia and Ma. Luisa Tagamolila Guillen last Maundy Thursday, April 2
“The PNP used the oldest and most discredited modus operandi to justify an illegal arrest: the use of a John Doe Warrant, and the planting of evidence,” Cortez pointed out.
The police in a statement after the arrests claimed they arrested a certain “alias Dhaday or Gie” pursuant to a Warrant of Arrest for Rebellion issued by Branch 21 of the Regional Trial Court, Mambusao, Capiz. She was also charged with illegal possession of firearms and explosives.
Her companion, whom police identified as a certain “alias Luing”, was charged with obstruction of justice.
READ: Maundy Thursday arrests of elderly women activists ‘calculated, cruel’ – rights group
“The police accused the two of being members of the CPP-NPA (Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army). In reality, the persons they arrested are known activists and development workers,” Cortez said.
Porquia, 64, was the person whom the police claimed to be “Alias Dhaday,” widow of Bayan Muna Coordinator Jory Porquia who was assassinated in April 2020. Josephine is an activist and a migrant rights advocate.
Guillen, 62, was the person police claimed as “Alias Luing,” a women’s rights activist and the mother of Atty. A.K. Guillen, who survived an assassination attempt in March 2021.
“The two were illegally arrested. This is evident from the official statements issued by the police regarding the arrests. All news accounts reported, citing police reports, that the warrant of arrest was served against a certain ‘alias Dhada or Gie,’” Cortez pointed out.
In a Facebook post, Lean Porquia, Josephine’s son, confirmed that his mother’s name is not listed in the warrant of arrest. Instead, the police arbitrarily claimed that she is “alias Dhaday/Gie.”
Cortez explained that a John Doe warrant lists unnamed individuals as accused, and are referred to as John Does, Jane Does, or by using their supposed aliases.
He, however, pointed out that law enforcers cannot arbitrarily use the warrant against any person by simply claiming that he/she is the John Doe referred to in the warrant.
“[U]nder the pertinent Department of Justice issuances, if the physical attributes of the John Doe accused are not described in the Information, a preliminary investigation has to be conducted before the Information can be amended to include the supposed real name of the John Doe accused,” Cortez said.
“The warrant of arrest issued against ‘alias Dhaday or Gie’ cannot be enforced against anybody until the indictment is amended to include the real name of the John Doe accused, and as stated earlier, amendment is only possible after preliminary investigation,” Cortez added.
For the same reasons, Guillen cannot be arrested and charged for obstruction of justice, he said.
‘Discredited repertoire’
The NUPL president said the police again used a “questionable court order” to legitimize its operations. It had been part of PNP’s “discredited repertoire,” including the alleged discovery of firearms and explosive devices where the two elderly activists were staying,” he said.
“This modus is included in their repertoire as an assurance that the arrested persons remain in jail despite the irregularity in the implementation of the warrant of arrest,” Cortez said.
The firearms and explosives were obviously planted evidence, a modus that does not usually survive judicial scrutiny, Cortez added.
The NUPL has a long list of similar cases that resulted in either the quashing of the information, dismissal on demurrer to evidence, or acquittal, he said.
Cortez underscored that the police’s implementation of the warrant of arrest was illegal and the so-called pieces of evidence were “fruits of the poisonous tree which cannot be used as evidence in Court.” # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
