Media groups have demanded the immediate release of a community journalist who were among five persons arrested during a simultaneous raid by local authorities in Tacloban City early Friday morning, February 7.
A journalist and four other human rights activists were reportedly arrested at 2:30 a.m. today in Tacloban City in what appeared to be a simultaneous raid of offices.
Several church groups called for the immediate release of a longtime volunteer lay worker who was arrested on October last year and accused of being a ranking leader of armed rebel group New People’s Army.
The Council of Bishops of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) demanded a public apology from the Regional Peace and Order Council of Region 11 (RPOC-11) for “besmirching the integrity” of the Christian denomination, and called for the urgent withdrawal of its “arbitrary resolution” ordering the shutdown of the UCCP-Haran Center here.
The recent attempt to take Manobo evacuees out of the church facility serving as their sanctuary as well as the immense pressure and intimidation that they face have left unshaken their firm resolve to stay.
The compound of the United Church of Christ of the Philippines (UCCP)- Haran was locked down as tensions arose when men armed with bolos forced their way inside on Saturday morning, January 25.
The operation of the so-called “bakwit school” for Lumad children is also threatened by the Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC)-11 resolution which seeks the immediate closure of the UCCP Haran Center.
The top regional officer of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) claimed that the agency is in possession of a list of individuals, companies and government officials that are supporting the Communist Party in the region.
A field reporter of a local radio station based in Tagum City who is covering a banana workers’ protest was arbitrarily arrested and detained by authorities, a journalists’ union reported on Tuesday.
A Protestant church defended the sanctuary it is providing for indigenous people evacuees in Mindanao against a regional government body’s order for its closure.
