The Center for Trade Union and Human (CTUHR) is alarmed by, and condemns, the filing of violation of the Public Assembly Act of 1985 (Republic Act 880) charges against two senatorial candidates of the Makabayan bloc, a senatoriable from the transport sector, and a transport leader and assert that these charges constitute police harassment.

The charges were filed by the Philippine National Police (PNP) against the following leaders of grassroots organizations of marginalized sectors in the country:
>> Mody Floranda, chairperson of transport group Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Operators Nationwide (Piston)
>> Mimi Doringo, secretary-general of urban poor group Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (Kadamay)
>> Mar Valbuena, chairperson of transport group Manibela, and
>> Bong Baylon, Piston deputy secretary-general.
Floranda and Doringo are senatorial candidates of Makabayan, while Valbuena is also running for senator as an independent.

It was only recently that the accused found out that cases have been filed against them before the Quezon City Metropolitan Trial Court, and that they are scheduled for an arraignment on November 14.

The case stems from a protest conducted by transport groups on August 14, 2024, in which the police blocked the protestors in Welcome Rotonda, the boundary of Quezon City and Manila City. The PNP claims that the protestors blocked the road and caused heavy traffic, when it was in fact its blockage which caused the problem it now blames on the protestors.

The jeepney drivers and their supporters were exercising their right to peaceably assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances, part of their right to freedom of expression. They had a legitimate grievance, the government’s scheme to phase out jeepneys in the guise of modernization, which will deny them of the source of their very livelihood and income.

It is in fact the PNP that was in error in the August 14 incident. Why did it block the jeepney drivers and their supporters who were planning to hold a protest in Mendiola to bring their demands to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr? Why did it not respect and violate the protesters’ right to peaceful assembly and protest?

We demand that the charges filed against the four leaders of grassroots organizations of marginalized sectors, three of whom are running for the Senate, be junked immediately. These are clearly harassment cases that have no place in a genuine democracy that upholds the human rights of the people. We call on the courts to exercise discernment in evaluating cases filed by the PNP.###