REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
QUEZON CITY
FOURTEENTH CONGRESS
Third Regular Session

HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 1337

Introduced by KABATAAN PARTY-LIST REPRESENTATIVE RAYMOND PALATINO

A RESOLUTION
DIRECTING THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RIGHTS TO IMMEDIATELY CONDUCT AN INVESTIGATION, IN AID OF LEGISLATION, OF THE VIOLENT DISPERSAL BY THE PRESIDENTIAL SECURITY GROUP OF A YOUTH RALLY HELD ON AUGUST 19, 2009 AT MENDIOLA, MANILA AND THE ILLEGAL DETENTION OF 20 STUDENTS IN THE MANILA POLICE DISTRICT HEADQUARTERS

WHEREAS, on August 19, 2009, around 200 members of League of Filipino Students (LFS), Anakbayan, Student Christian Movement of the Philippines (SCMP) and College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP), held a protest rally in front of Gate 7 of Malacañang Palace to show their disgust over the exorbitant dinners involving President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and several congressmen during the recent presidential visit to the United States of America;

WHEREAS, according to rally organizers, such behavior of the President and her entourage, is “a reflection of the President’s callousness at the hunger and poverty experienced by most Filipinos today” and raises questions on the necessity and transparency of the President’s trips abroad;

WHEREAS, around 11 a.m., members of the Presidential Security Group (PSG) swiftly and violently attacked and dispersed using nightsticks the protesters marching from San Sebastian College towards Gate 7, arbitrarily arresting 20 and injuring 17 students from Polytechnic University of the Philippines, University of the Philippines-Diliman and some high schools;

WHEREAS, news footages and photos showed that some members of the dispersal unit were heavily armed with armalites, while some were even in their shorts and plainclothes, thus clearly violating well-established protocols of engagement;

WHEREAS, a news footage from GMA Network’s 24 Oras and Saksi showed that some members of the dispersal unit used excessive force by punching and kicking the protesters and bodily dragging them over the asphalt even after they were arrested;

WHEREAS, the PSG held the arrested students for almost one hour inside the Gate 7 premises and refused entry to paralegals who wanted to check on the well-being of the students;

WHEREAS, the arrested students were later brought to the Hospital ng Maynila for medico-legal check-up and then to the Manila Police District Headquarters where they were detained for illegal assembly without being read their Miranda Rights;

WHEREAS, Article III, Section 4 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution protects the right of citizens to peaceably assemble and petition the government for redress of their grievances;

WHEREAS, the students’ protest was a valid exercise of the right of the people to hold accountable the President for the alleged misuse of public funds;

WHEREAS, the failure of the Manila Police District officers to inform the students of their rights upon arrest is a clear violation of Article III, Sec. 12. (1) of the Philippine Constitution which states that “any person under investigation for the commission of an offense shall have the right to be informed of his right to remain silent and to have competent and independent counsel preferably of his own choice;”

WHEREAS, notwithstanding that the grounds where the rally was held has been declared a “no rally zone” by the President when she imposed the State of National Emergency in 2006, the violent dispersal and arbitrary arrests of students committed by the PSG and the police were beyond justification as the students were not employing any violent means in their staging of the protest;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, AS IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED, that the House Committee on Human Rights immediately conduct an investigation, in aid of legislation, of the violent dispersal of students protesting in Mendiola, Manila last August 19, 2009 resulting in the injury of 17 students and the arbitrary arrest and illegal detention of 20 students;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that members of the PSG and the Manila Police District involved in the violent dispersal and arbitrary arrests be subjected to administrative sanctions so as to ensure that similar incidents of violence against protesters will not take place again.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the House Committee on Human Rights conduct a review and evaluation of the implementation of Batas Pambansa (BP) 880, or The Public Assembly Act of 1985, as it has repeatedly been invoked and used by the police and anti-riot squads to justify violent dispersals and incidents wherein authorities are accused of having used excessive force in sanctioning rallies and mass demonstrations.

Adopted,
HON. RAYMOND PALATINO
KABATAAN Party-list