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In solidarity with our Muslim brothers

I viewed on TV the arrest of several Muslims in Metro Manila by the Philippine National Police (PNP). Afterwards, PNP officials in high profile media interviews claimed that the arrest was a product of several days, in fact months, of surveillance. They allegedly found several arms and ammunitions in the abode of the Muslims, which the latter will allegedly use to bomb the Black Nazarene Feast in Quiapo.

I consider the PNP move as part of witch-hunting expeditions by the present administration and its peace keeping force. The move also shows institutionalized discrimination by the Manila-based government against Muslims, its legacy from the colonial past.

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It is very notable that the searches and the arrests of the said 17 Muslims are blatantly violative of the constitutionally guaranteed rights of a person against unreasonable searches and seizure.

The PNP officials claimed that they had been monitoring the movements of the 17 arrested. They were able to identify areas where these suspects had been allegedly moving.

Based on the surveillance, the PNP had enough time to apply for search warrant from any civilian court. What they did instead was to raid the abode of these suspects, which later turned out to be an Islamic Information Center utilized by the Muslims for their religion.

The constitution provides that any search or seizure shall be done when a warrant is issued by the judge after the following: First, there is a probable cause; second, the cause was established by the judge; third, after the judge personally examines under oath, the complainant may produce witnesses; and lastly, the warrant particularly describes the place to be searched or things or persons to be seized. There being no warrant used by the PNP in this particular operation, the search of the center and the arrest of the 17are patently illegal.

In fact, the search and the arrest of the seventeen do not fall under the circumstances that mandate for warrantless arrest and seizure.

I believe the search and arrest operation was a premeditated act by the PNP officers. To validate this, the PNP, as claimed by our Muslim brothers who condemned the act, planted evidence against the seventeen.

Exposed of their illegal acts, the PNP head in the National Capital Region issued a statement warning his men to be careful and responsible enough in the conduct of warrantless arrests and searches. What a way to wash hands from the blatant violations of our bother Muslims’ constitutional rights.

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The above acts, aside from being illegal, are a manifestation of the state’s discrimination policy against Muslims and indigenous groups in the country. From the colonial period up to the present, any group in the Philippines who had struggled for their self-determination against the colonial and neo-colonial programs of the state had been hit by the state and its agents. The state continuously makes them sacrificial lambs, like in the anti-terror campaign and to continue their hold on power and maintain the status quo.

The state adds friction to the institutionally inflicted conflict between Muslims and Christians, portraying Muslims as untrustworthy and terrorists.

I join our Muslim brothers in condemning the blatant violation of their rights and urge the immediate release of those arrested under the PNP custody. I also relay my solidarity with them on their struggle for self-determination, a struggle that indigenous peoples, including the Igorots in the Cordillera, aspire under a truly democratic Philippine society. #

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