Teachers to sue Manila cops for violent dispersal
For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV
For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV
For the actual footage,visit www.youtube.com
Activist group Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) will sue Manila policemen for the violent dispersal of the peaceful protest of teachers and students last January 31.
"They (policemen) made use unnecessary and excessive force in suppressing the protest action. They violated our constitutional right to free expression and freedom of assembly," ACT chairperson Antonio Tinio said in a statement.
He said they will file the appropriate charges before the Ombudsman.
Policemen led by a certain police Major Rosales as well as elements of the Manila Police District’s Civil Disturbance Management unit were responsible for the dispersal, Tinio said.
He said the policemen violated provisions of the Batas Pambansa 880, prescribing the exercise of maximum tolerance in handling demonstrators.
"The arrest and detention of six of the demonstrators are patently illegal, since BP 880 expressly provides that ‘no person can be punished or held criminally liable for participating in or attending an otherwise peaceful assembly,’" Tinio added.
Six persons were arrested and 23 were injured in the dispersal. Two of those arrested were members of ACT. They are Joanna Rose Adenit, a teacher, and Emmanuel Montano, an education student at the Philippine Normal University.
Montano said several anti-riot policemen hit him with truncheons while he was lying on the ground. Policemen later dragged and threw him inside a vehicle.
Meanwhile, Adenit pointed out that the violence against demonstrators as well as the arrests took place in Rizal Park, supposedly a freedom park.
No comments:
Post a Comment