Three peasant leaders implicated in the 2003 raid and burning of Sta. Lucia Municipal Police Station (MPS) have high hopes that they will soon be released as the verdict on the cases filed by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) of the Philippine National Police (PNP) will soon be promulgated by the RTC Branch 71 under Judge Policarpio Martinez

BY ROD TAJON
Northern Dispatch
Human Rights Watch
Posted by Bulatlat
Vol. VII, No. 32, September 16-22, 2007

VIGAN CITY (407 km north of Manila) — Three peasant leaders implicated in the 2003 raid and burning of Sta. Lucia Municipal Police Station (MPS) have high hopes that they will soon be released as the verdict on the cases filed by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) of the Philippine National Police (PNP) will soon be promulgated by the RTC Branch 71 under Judge Policarpio Martinez.

According to Leonardo Sabalo, vice-chairperson of Solidarity of Peasants against Exploitation (Stop Exploitation) and one of the jailed peasant leaders, they are hoping that justice would still prevail amid the worsening political repression targeting progressive organizations.

“The charges are baseless. We are optimistic that we will be free from these detention cells soon because there was no concrete evidence that would point to us as the perpetrators,” Sabalo said in Iloco.

No complainant

Rhanny Belle Urbis, public information officer of the  Ilocos Human Rights Advocates (IHRA-Karapatan) claimed that during the previous hearings, no witnesses appeared.

Urbis also added that the two (2) witnesses who appeared during the first hearing did not actually present any evidence that would point to the participation of the three peasant leaders in the crimes they were being charged with.

“The witnesses were not able to pinpoint the leaders because they did not see them there. No other witness or complainant appeared before the court during the succeeding hearings.” Urbis said.

Sabalo, together with Julian Daoa, Bayan-Ilocos secretary-general and Rogelio Vilog, regional council member of Stop Exploitation, consistently attended scheduled hearings even as there were no complainants present.

The three and other named individuals were charged with double-murder, robbery, arson, multiple serious physical injuries and direct assault upon a person in authority by the PNP-CIDG in 2003 in relation to the Sta. Lucia police detachment raid in 2003. Northern Dispatch / Posted by Bulatlat

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