“Frenchie used to lead the Eastern Vista, where is it now? They used to report the prices of basic commodities of Samar and how it affects the people. No one does that now. It is a big disservice to the poor in the region.”
In a decision dated Jan. 27, CA Associate Justice Lorenzo R. Dela Rosa said that the “granting of the quashal of the search warrants is only proper and just.”
“We had to start from scratch. We still cannot sleep at night because of the memories of our arrests. I am still reeling from the anxiety and trauma.”
Under President Rodrigo Duterte, the wee hours of the morning have been filled not with calmness but with anxiety as government critics fear they may be the next targets of illegal arrests and even graver rights abuses.
In the Philippines, journalists are being attacked while perpetrators of extrajudicial killings go free, laments journalist and recently freed political detainee Lady Ann Salem.
“Not only is it an underhanded threat against Judge Quisumbing-Ignacio, it also seeks to undermine the independence of all judges and the courts handling similar cases.”
Journalist Lady Ann Salem thanked Judge Monique Quisumbing-Ignacio for “seeing the truth behind the fabricated charges” and all those who supported the campaign for her release.
Media groups reiterated their demand for the immediate release of Filipino journalist Lady Ann Salem as she remains behind bars more than a week since a Mandaluyong court dismissed the charges against her.
Lawyers of journalist Lady Ann Salem and labor organizer Rodrigo Esparago asserted that the court's decision dismissing the charges against the two is final and executory, thus, their clients should be released immediately.
“The ordeal of Frenchie Mae is part of the increasing persecution of the critical media by the forces of a government so intolerant of criticism and dissent that the mere exercise of democratic rights is enough for one to be branded an "enemy of the state."
Judge Monique Quisumbing-Ignacio of Branch 209, in a 10-page decision dated Feb. 5, declared that the search warrant used to enter Salem's Mandaluyong home is null and void, rendering the firearms and explosives purportedly found in their possession as inadmissible evidence before the court.
“The situation will worsen if we are silent... Now is the time to fight, to speak, and to push for genuine social change.”
“While there has been no offered evidence of any such links, Philippine officials’ increasing penchant for such “red-tagging” is reckless, irresponsible, and dangerous. When amplified by no less than the highest ranking enforcers of government and the law they inevitably compromise any guarantees of due process.”
“Complainants have been targeted for their critical and independent reporting on issues affecting the marginalized and oppressed sectors. They are being persecuted for publishing progressive and alternative views on matters affecting the Filipino people — progressive ideas that are anathema to the current tyrannical regime.”
“The reason we have peaceful lives is that there are people like Icy who are continuously fighting for our rights.”
“The Icy that we grew up and spent our high school days with — a diligent student, a committed and effective leader, an articulate writer, a skillful athlete, and a loyal and loving friend — could not be further from the gun-wielding terrorist the police is trying to portray.”
"Her abduction, on Human Rights Day no less, is another proof of the dangers of the administration’s vile practice of red-tagging."
Media workers of an independent audio-visual group decried the harassment by the local police during the violent demolition of an urban-poor community in San Juan, Metro Manila.
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