Six activists who were arrested during a Labor Day protest in front of the United States Embassy have been released after almost a week in detention. This comes after the Manila Regional Trial Court granted their petition for bail on Monday, allowing them to walk free on Tuesday evening.
The activists 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, with four of them being students from the University of the Philippines and the other two being youth activists from Anakbayan Caloocan.
According to Article 125 of the Revised Penal Code, individuals arrested without a warrant must be presented before the court and formally charged within 36 hours. The activists should have been charged during the inquest proceedings on May 2, but as of now, the prosecution has not issued a resolution.
Lawyer Jess Ramirez filed an urgent petition for bail on May 3, and the hearing was rescheduled on Monday morning due to the absence of a prosecutor to comment on their petition. The activists’ detention without formal charges for almost a week has been condemned by the Makabayan bloc and other progressive groups.
Kilusang Mayo Uno maintained that the arrest and detainment of the activists were unjust, claiming that the protest was peaceful until police escalated the situation by using force and making arrests.
