Six activists arrested in 2018 during an alleged encounter between government troops and New People’s Army rebels in Mabinay Town in Negros Oriental have been freed by the court after being cleared of charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives.
Judge Marie Rose Inocando of the Regional Trial Court Branch 42 ruled that the prosecutors failed to prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt and that the police handled the evidence poorly.
The decision will no longer be challenged, and the commander of the 302nd Brigade said they will do better case handling next time.
‘We always abide by the rule of law and we respect the decision of the court in the case of the Mabinay 6. We take this as a sign that we should improve when it comes to legalities during combat operations,’ said Brigadier General Jason Jumawan in an interview with the Philippine News Agency.
We suppose we should be happy that they will handle cases better, but then again maybe we should also be wary.
Because that can mean that either they will take care not to accuse the wrong people anymore –or they will make sure to have enough evidence to make sure people are convicted, whether they are guilty or not.
Activists who go to educate farmers of their rights aren’t rebels. Rebels are those who take part in the armed struggle against the duly-elected government. Many people cannot make this distinction, especially those in the armed forces.
We cannot totally blame them for this. Their training to defend the country from threats both external and internal leaves little time for them to be taught the difference between those rebelling and those who are just pushing for positive change.
This isn’t limited to government troops. Remember the rampant red-tagging during the previous administration? Even those who were just doing their jobs like advocates for women’s rights, judges, lawyers, and even priests were lumped in with those who want to bring down the democracy.
We certainly hope Jumawan meant the former, that they will take care to no longer accuse the wrong people.