In a statement, Kadamay said that personnel of the Philippine National Police came in "squads" to arrest one of its leaders, Rose Fortaleza, after they "entered the occupied Villa Lois housing site to conduct illegal searches without a warrant."
"The cops entered Fortaleza’s home, arrested her and confiscated the group’s flyers along with issues of the alternative news publication, Pinoy Weekly," the group's statement reads.
Mimi Doringo, Kadamay spokesperson, said in the statement: “We have always said, often, that the poor will be hit first by Duterte's repression. Is it illegal to distribute a brochure and newspaper today? The police did not have a search warrant and there was no basis for the arrest and confiscation of our materials but they continued. Who is the criminal here?”
According to Kadamay, Fortaleza remains detained at the Pandi Municipal Police Station without any formal charges pressed. Her family, they said, have been barred from seeing her.
In a separate statement Pinoy Weekly editor-in-chief Kenneth Guda condemned the confiscation of copies of their newspaper, saying these were Kadamay members' property.
"What [Police Captain Jun] Alejandrino and his men did was illegal. Secondly, either the police chief is ignorant of the constitutionally-guaranteed freedom of the press and freedom of expression, or he chooses to trample upon it. Either way, he and his men are committing a crime," he said.
'Subversive' materials were 'voluntarily surrendered'
But Pandi Municipal Police Station has a completely different account of what happened, according to a source.A source, who declined to be identified for lack of clearance to speak to media, told Philstar.com in a phone call that the station took what they identified as subversive materials after they were voluntarily surrendered to police.
Guda, citing reports from witnesses, said that the police had "said the magazines were 'illegal' and that they should give up the copies or else 'may mangyayari (something will happen)'."
The source also said that what happened was not a raid, adding that those living in the projects were concerned about having such materials around them.
Philstar.com was also told that they were classified as subversive and had content and graphics of President Duterte.
"Pinoy Weekly is a well-established, independent print and online publication that has been in existence since 2002," Guda said.
"We publish investigative, explanatory, narrative, and analytical reports in the Filipino language, targeting underreported and marginalized sectors and communities," he said.
"Pinoy Weekly has been given recognition in many award-giving bodies for our journalistic work. More importantly, our readers — who otherwise have little access to news and information platforms — appreciate our reports."
When volunteers from Sagip Kanayunan and Tulong Anakpawis were flagged down and arrested by the police in Norzagaray, Bulacan in late April while on their way to conduct their COVID-19 relief operation, copies of Pinoy Weekly were also found and confiscated for purportedly being anti-government paraphernalia.
Guda stressed then that the newspaper "is a bonafide member of the Philippine press, and has been so since 2002, even as we proudly claim to be part of the alternative, or independent, media, in the country."
"Just one day before the [State of the Nation Address], [we see that] the Duterte administration is terrified of the outpouring of human anger. They want to deter protesters with fear. This PNP, on the other hand, has been wishy-washy: first it agreed to protest actions, suddenly they cracked down on demonstrations a few days later," Doringo said.
PNP leadership has already promised maximum tolerance of protest actions in the past though instances of peaceful protest largely yield warrantless arrests of their own — even of those who did protest online or practice physical distancing — that only led to violations of the very health protocols supposedly being enforced.
Philstar.com also reached out to the national police's spokesperson, but he has not responded as of this publishing.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
SOURCE: https://www.philstar.com/nation/2020/07/26/2030724/bulacan-cops-arrest-community-leader-confiscate-subversive-newspapers
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