Abogados’ group insists evidence planted on arrested labor leader

The National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) has remained firm in its stance that evidence was planted by police against trade unionist Joel Demate who is one of seven activists who were arrested on International Human Rights Day last December 10.

The NUPL pointed this out after it received last April 22 the order of Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 50 which denied the motion seeking to quash search warrant issued against Demate who is facing illegal possession of firearms and explosives charges.

“The NUPL will move for the reconsideration of the court order and pursue available legal remedies to vindicate Demate and secure his liberty,” the group said in a statement.

Among the seven activisits, journalist Lady Ann Salem and trade unionist Rodrigo Esparago have been freed after a Mandaluyong City RTC granted their motions that quashed the search warrants issued against them that led to the dismissal of the illegal possession of firearms and explosives charges.

The NUPL, which also represented the two freed activists, said it used the same arguments in the cases of Salem and Esparago in seeking the dismissal of the charges against Demate.

The group said the search warrant against Demate should be “void for being a general warrant, as it failed to describe the laptop and cellphone to be seized from his home with sufficient particularity.”

“As a result, the police embarked in a fishing expedition, seizing any and all gadgets they could find in the house, including his daughter’s laptop computer. He further said that the service of the warrant is not really a search and seizure operation, but one of the instances where the police planted evidence to incriminate an activist for fabricated crimes,” it stated.

The NUPL also argued that the search warrant issued by Quezon City Judge Judge Cecilyn Burgos-Villavert was without probable cause since the records of the search warrant proceedings show that the magistrate “failed to propound searching questions to the police witnesses and their informant and that she granted the application despite glaring inconsistencies in their testimonies.”

Source: Latest Politics News Today (Politics.com.ph)