A labor NGO condemned today the arrest of two community health workers and their companions in a joint police-military raid in Tarlac City on March 11, saying that the activists are victims of planted evidence and trumped-up charges and should be released from detention immediately.

The Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR) condemned the arrest of Dr. Ana Marie Rilloroza, health worker Marc Arriane Mendiola, and their companions for alleged possession of firearms and explosives by the 5^th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army and the Philippine National Police.

“The arrest of Dr. Rilloroza, Mendiola and their colleagues bears the trademark of police-military operation against activists, especially those serving the poorest communities in far-flung areas. Claiming to have arrest warrants based on trumped-up charges, they arrest activists and – lo and behold! – guns and explosives are supposedly found in the activists’ possession,” said Kamz Deligente, CTUHR executive director.

Dr. Rilloroza is a long-time community health worker, who hails from the UP College of Medicine Class of 1993 and later joined NGOs Community Medicine Development Foundation (COMMED) and Community Health, Education, Services and Training in the Cordillera Region (CHESTCORE).

Mendiola, meanwhile, is a psychology graduate who served as coordinator of the Baguio-Benguet chapter of the Alliance of Health Workers (AHW) and works on grassroots community mental health.

CTUHR said that the arrest of Rilloroza and Mendiola has brought the number of political detainees from the labor movement to 19, and that most of those imprisoned are victims of the combo of trumped-up murder and attempted murder charges and planted evidence of firearms and explosives.

“Courts have repeatedly junked similar cases, but only after the activists have been imprisoned for years, hindering them from empowering the poor and workers in order to claim their rights. This is a violation of the human rights not only of the activists but also of the communities that they serve,” Deligente added.

The labor NGO said that any honest investigation into the cases filed against the 19 political detainees from the labor movement will show that these do not rest on solid evidence, are merely fabricated by state agents, are inflicting harm and constitute rights violation and injustice.

“Despite his pretense at upholding human rights, especially in the labor sector, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has not done anything to speed up the release of political detainees. He should have taken the opportunity to free the detainees who were arrested by his predecessor, but instead he has increased the number of detainees with new arrests,” Deligente stated.