Cebu City Police ready for counter charges from Cebu 8
CEBU CITY, Philippines—The Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) said it is ready to face counter charges that will be filed by the camp of the eight individuals arrested by police in a protest rally last June 5, 2020.
Police Colonel Cydric Earl Tamayo, the temporary officer-in-charge of the CCPO, told the media in a phone conference on Tuesday, June 9, 2020, that they are just waiting for the counter charges of the protesters, who are collectively referred to as the “Cebu 8.”
“They have their right to counter-charge so we will just wait for them before we can answer their charges or cases in a legal way,” said Tamayo in Cebuano. “So we will wait for the cases that they will be charging against us. Whatever these charges will be, the police is ready to face them and answer the charges in the right way.”
Joahanna Veloso, Bern Cañedo, Nar Porlas, Jaime Paglinawan, Al Ingking, Dyan Gumanao, Janry Ubal, and Clement Corominas were arrested while staging a rally against the anti-terrorism bill outside the University of the Philippines Cebu (UP-Cebu) campus in the morning of June 5, 2020.
Read: Police arrest protesters in Cebu City for violating GCQ guidelines
They are facing charges for violation of Section 13 of the Public Assembly Act of 1985 (Batasang Pambansa No. 880); Section 9 (e) of the Law on Reporting of Communicable Diseases (R.A. No. 11332), and simple resistance and disobedience to an agent of a person in authority under Article 151 paragraph 2 of the Revised Penal Code.
Read: Charges against Cebu8 elevated to court, all bailable
After spending three days in detention, the eight people arrested have been released from police custody on Monday, June 8, 2020.
Read: Cebu 8 released from detention
Regarding UP Cebu’s statement in calling out the police for violating an agreement the university entered with the Department of National Defense (DND) in 1989 that disallowed police operations inside UP’s campuses, Tamayo said that the circumstance of the agreement was made without a pandemic in the picture.
“We have COVID and there are underlying policies that we imposed and have to be followed,” he said.
On the reports of a member of the Cebu 8 receiving threats, Tamayo said that they are will to extend help in the form of protection to those who have been receiving threats. Tamayo said all concerned member has to do is approach any police station in the city to file a blotter complaint.
“They can go to our station and file for a blotter complaint for us to evaluate the gravity of the situation if they really need to be guarded for their own safety, because of the alleged threats that they have been receiving. But we will have to investigate first,” said Tamayo./bmjo
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