More student leaders are being issued subpoenas by the police over recent anti-corruption protests, including the widely attended September 21 rally that drew thousands of concerned civilians to the streets.
At a press conference on Thursday, October 23, UP Diliman University Student Council Chairperson Joaquin Buenaflor said police officers arrived at his home the day before to deliver a subpoena, warning that he could be arrested if he failed to appear before investigators.
Buenaflor said this makes him the fourth such student who has been served a subpoena by the Philippine National Police (PNP) in connection to the anti-corruption protests in September and last week.
Police also earlier subpoenaed Tiffany Brillante, president of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) student council, Jacob Baluyod, chairperson of PUP’s alliance of student journalists, and Aldrin Kitsun, Kabataan Kontra Korapsyon member.
Earlier this week, the PUP student council condemned what it described as continued ‘state surveillance, red-tagging, and harassment’ of student activists, after the PNP’s criminal investigation and detection (CIDG) operatives handed Brillante a subpoena.
According to the council, the document orders her to appear before police to ‘determine the facts and circumstances’ surrounding the September 21 ‘Trillion Peso March’ and ‘related incidents.’
Buenaflor said the subpoenas have only hardened students’ resolve to continue the protests. “Our anger against thieves, against corruption, has only intensified,” he said Thursday.
The student leader also accused police of acting swiftly to intimidate young activists while ignoring powerful officials accused of looting government coffers.
“The PNP moves swiftly when it comes to intimidating young people, but when it comes to the massive thieves in our country, the PNP seems deaf, blind, and silent, slow and cowardly,” the student leader said in mixed English and Filipino.
“Show your toughness to the thieves,” Buenaflor said, addressing the police directly. “If our police are truly brave and strong, go to the homes of corrupt politicians. Subpoena, charge, and arrest the politicians and contractors who stole billions from the people’s funds – that’s where the real criminals are.”
Student councils from UP, PUP, and several universities in Intramuros, Taft, and other parts of Metro Manila have led campus walkouts since early September to protest corruption in government, culminating in the mass demonstrations on September 21.
The youth groups also organized follow-up walkouts last week in what they described as a continuing campaign for accountability.
The youth were also the main proponents behind the campus walkouts last week that were seen as a follow-up to the September 21 demonstrations.
In a statement, the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) reminded those who received subpoenas that they are under no obligation to explain themselves to investigators and are protected by constitutional rights against self-incrimination.
The group also warned that the PNP’s subpoena powers ‘may not be used to harass, intimidate, or threaten anyone for exercising their right to free expression.’