Galenzoga condemns "human rights violations" in Baybay City

CEBU, Philippines - Mayoralty bet Marilou "Malot" Veloso Galenzoga has denounced the "unwarranted arrests and detentions" of hundreds of Baybayanons suspected to have participated in the protest rally at the Baybay City Hall last June 30.

"We, the Team Malot and freedom-loving people of Baybay City (Leyte), condemn the continued gross violations of human rights committed to this day by the police and the camp of Mayor Carmen Cari against me and the helpless Baybayanons," said Galenzoga in a statement sent to the media.

"It was like martial law," Galenzoga described the horrifying experience she and her people underwent when a hundred policemen and soldiers, in full battle gear and with armored vehicles, raided her compound "without any arrest or search warrants."

The arrests started, after a raid of her residential compound, at dawn of July 1 and more than 700 people, including women and children, were hauled off to jails where many remained there for days allegedly without charges filed against them.

Galenzoga cited the fate of the 17-year-old boy who was injured in the rally then detained for 10 days, without charges, and was freed only after the court granted a habeas corpus petition ordering the police to release him.

Several calls recently to the City Police for clarification on the arrests proved futile as these were left unanswered. Supt. Carlito Gallardo, chief of the City Police, however, earlier told reporters present during the raid that the searches and arrests were done as part of the hot pursuit operations, in relation to the protest rally that turned violent. "They caused injuries to the authorities, massive damage to the City Hall and other government properties in the city. This is a hot pursuit operation, thus, there's no need for search or arrest warrants," he said.

Galenzoga said many Baybayanons "were detained for several days and interrogated without giving them the rights to a counsel. Others were even beaten up in the presence of policemen," she alleged, adding that her photographer, Rex Llagas, who was already beaten up during the rally, was mauled anew when arrested and detained.

Mayor Cari, in a statement issued to The Freeman days after the raid, denied there was mauling of arrested people. "The CCTV footage around the City Hall showed no such incidents," she said, adding that the protesters were charged with sedition, illegal assembly and damage to government properties, among others.

Galenzoga said the arrests continued over a week span, some of whom were picked up from their houses on mere suspicion that they were among the mob at City Hall. An official from the Leyte Provincial Police Office confirmed this matter although he insisted that it was part of the police's hot pursuit operation.

"The Commission on Human Rights-Region 8 knew these illegal arrests and detentions. It is not true also that no one, among those released and still detained, wanted to file complaints against the police, as reported by the media earlier," said Galenzoga.

Galenzoga further denounced the mayor for telling local reporters that she was offering P500,000 "reward" for her capture. It was a "malicious intent to picture me as a fugitive before the public, placing my life in real danger even if there was no case filed against me, and no arrest warrant exists," she said.

"We are condemning the illegal detention and arrests, damage to my property and even robbery because, during the raid, I lost pieces of jewelry worth about P19.5 million, and my parked vehicles were damaged at a cost of about P5 million," Galenzoga added. (FREEMAN)