8-5-2024 (MANILA) Six activists who were arrested during a Labor Day protest in front of the United States Embassy have been released on Tuesday evening, nearly a week after their initial detention.
The release came a day after the Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 18 granted their petition for bail on Monday, signaling a legal victory for the activists and their supporters.
The six individuals, four of whom are students from the prestigious University of the Philippines, while the remaining two are youth activists from the Anakbayan Caloocan organization, were charged with illegal assembly under Batas Pambansa 880 and direct assault under the Revised Penal Code.
Each activist was granted bail totaling P42,000: P6,000 for the illegal assembly charge and P36,000 for the direct assault charge, bringing the total bail amount for all six activists to a staggering P252,000.
WATCH: The Mayo Uno 6 have been officially released from the Manila Police District Headquarters. The six youth activists were detained for seven days after their violent arrest during the Labor Day mobilization.
READ: https://t.co/LhNnDXaPg9 pic.twitter.com/KSfNKwYZxu
— Philippine Collegian (@phkule) May 7, 2024
The arrest and subsequent detention of the activists have drawn criticism from various quarters, with progressive groups and civil liberties advocates condemning the actions of the authorities as an infringement on the fundamental right to peaceful protest.
According to reports, the activists should have been charged immediately during the inquest proceedings on May 2, as stipulated by Article 125 of the Revised Penal Code, which mandates that individuals arrested without a warrant must be presented before the court and formally charged within 36 hours.
However, the prosecution had not yet issued a resolution following the inquest proceedings, prompting the activists’ lawyer, Jess Ramirez, to file an urgent petition for bail on May 3.
The hearing for the petition was initially scheduled for Monday morning but was postponed due to the absence of a prosecutor to comment on the filed petition.
The Makabayan bloc and other progressive groups have vehemently condemned the detention of the activists, asserting that their arrest and prolonged imprisonment were unjust. Kilusang Mayo Uno, a prominent labor organization, stated in a Tuesday statement, “We maintain that their arrest and detainment is unjust. The protest was peaceful until police escalated the situation by hitting protesters with shields and batons until they were arrested.”
