Screenshot of a contributed video during the ATB rally in front of UP Cebu on June 5
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Police in Cebu denied accusations hurled against them that they violated an accord barring state forces from entering campuses of the University of the Philippines (UP).
Police Brigadier Albert Ignatius Ferro, director of Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO – 7), said some of the policemen, who went inside UP Cebu after dispersing a rally on Friday, June 5, was in line with hot pursuit.
“Actually if you follow the law on hot pursuit, it is applicable because what they did — when they are violating the law outside UP, when they were being chased, they went inside UP which they believe dili sila madakpan didto (they won’t be arrested) because it is UP,” Ferro told reporters in a teleconference on Friday.
Officers from the Cebu City Police dispersed a group holding a protest opposing the Anti-Terror Bill in front of UP Cebu on Friday morning.
READ MORE: Police arrest protesters in Cebu City for violating GCQ guidelines
They arrested at least seven of the participants, including some students, for allegedly violating quarantine protocols.
Ferro also said one of the rallyists pushed a police officer while they were being dispersed.
“Unfortunately the law on hot pursuit is in effect especially if you have violated the disobedience and resistance. Article 151 of the Revised Penal Code. Gi-tulak man nila tong mga pulis (They pushed one of the policemen)… initially, they have a violation that’s why on the concept of hot pursuit, we have to arrest them,” he added.
Videos and photos circulating on social media showed police pursuing other rallyists inside campus premises.
In a press release, labor group Alyansa sa mga Mamumuo sa Sugbo-Kilusang Mayo Uno (AMA Sugbo-KMU) said the police violated the agreement between UP and the Department of National Defense, called as the UP-DND Accord of 1989, which prohibited law enforcers from accessing UP campuses.
“The police proceeded to violently disperse the protest, prompting protesters to run inside the UP Cebu campus. According to the UP-DND Accord signed in 1989, state forces are not allowed to enter UP premises without permission. This is a clear violation of that agreement,” the group said.
The chairperson of AMA Sugbo-KMU, Jaime Paglinawan, was among those who were brought to police custody in Camp Sotero Cabahug in Gorordo Avenue, Cebu City.
Paglinawan and several others, who are still in Camp Sotero Cabahug, refuted the claims of the police that they did not observe physical distancing, and added they were wearing face masks during the protest.
CDN Digital has reached out to UP Cebu Chancellor Liza Corro for her comments as of this posting. /dbs
READ MORE: 7 Cebu students nabbed for protesting against anti-terror bill