After nearly six years in detention, Kadamay organizer John Griefen Arlegui and Anakbayan organizer Reynaldo Viernes were released today after the Malolos Regional Trial Court Branch 78 granted their Demurrer to Evidence in their trumped-up case for illegal possession of firearms and explosives.
On April 13, 2019, Arlegui and Viernes were aboard a kulong-kulong along the Angat-Pandi Road, participating in an electoral sortie for Bayan Muna Partylist and senatorial candidate Neri Colmenares, when they were arrested by members of the CIDG RFU 3.
In its ruling, the Court found that the prosecution failed to establish an unbroken chain of custody for the allegedly confiscated firearms and explosives, describing the “irregularities as clear as daylight.” The Court further emphasized that the prosecution’s presentation of the case raised serious doubts about the legitimacy of the supposed buy-bust operation.
Upon their release, they were welcomed outside the Bulacan Provincial Jail by senatorial candidate and urban poor leader Ka Mimi Doringo, who expressed solidarity with the two activists.
The case of Arlegui and Viernes underscores the dangerous trend of using fabricated criminal charges as a tool to suppress progressive political candidates and their supporters.
