Pahayag ni KOJC legal counsel Torreon sa pagdinig ng Senado | GMA Integrated News
Nagbigay ng pahayag si KOJC legal counsel Atty. Israelito Torreon sa pagdinig ng Senado tungkol sa operasyon ng PNP sa KOJC compound.
Video: Senate of the Philippines livestream/ YouTube
Video: Senate of the Philippines livestream/ YouTube
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TVTranscript
00:00Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.
00:04In behalf of the KOJC, your honors, as well as the JMC, we would like to express our heartfelt
00:12thanks for conducting this Senate hearing this afternoon.
00:17This really comes as a gift to us, especially in the light of the fact that we have been
00:24under attack.
00:26We would like to begin by quoting People v. Arrota, your honor, where the Supreme Court
00:32said that it is simply not allowed in a free society to enforce a law, or to violate a
00:40law rather, to enforce another, especially if the law violated is the Constitution itself.
00:49What we are seeing here actually, your honor, is the rape of the 1987 Constitution in the
00:57guise of the enforcement of a warrant of arrest.
01:02We feel, your honor, deeply that while we may concede that there is indeed a warrant
01:09of arrest, the validity of which is still under question before the Court of Appeals,
01:16we feel that the same should not be used as a license to violate fundamental rights
01:24of citizens, of third persons, not included in the warrant of arrest.
01:30In this case, your honor, from the get-go, when General Torre allegedly served the warrant
01:37of arrest, we already informed him that the warrant he was bringing was only one, that
01:43of a person in the name of Silvia Simones, with an address in Pasig City.
01:49We felt that if he was given that information, he would adjust and look for other copies
01:58of the warrant.
01:59We know that we may be served with other copies of the warrant, but until now, there is no
02:04service.
02:05The warrant of arrest was used to destroy the rights of individuals, tear gases were
02:12used, and despite the clear evidence to the contrary, PNP denies this.
02:19Freedom of religion, where the cathedral itself has been denied usage to the members.
02:26The warrant of arrest has likewise been used as a license to conduct random as well as
02:33omnibus search to all the properties in the KOJC compound.
02:41It has likewise been used as a license to turn the property into a police garrison where
02:48members cannot anymore freely use the school, as well as the cathedral, as well as numerous
02:58rooms located therein.
03:01So therefore, your honor, we thank you for this opportunity, for giving us a breather.
03:08We are hoping and praying earnestly to Allah subhana wa ta'ala that after this hearing,
03:13your honor, the police or the PNP leadership would realize that indeed they may be serving
03:22a warrant of arrest, but in the service of such warrant of arrest, they should bear in
03:29mind the fundamental rights likewise of third persons not actually mentioned in the said
03:37warrant of arrest.
03:39Your honors, the violations here and the evidences are overwhelming, and we hope, your honor,
03:50that this can be corrected soonest and fast.
03:56We have actually presented, your honor, a blow-by-blow accounts of what transpired from
04:02August 24 until today, your honor, where even the temporary protection order which was lawfully
04:12issued by the regional trial court on the third day, this was reasonably violated.
04:20The temporary protection order was a clear order, your honor, which provided supposed
04:27judicial relief to third persons who are not affected by the warrant of arrest.
04:35The temporary protection order was directed against the restrictions and control being
04:42employed by the PNP, which led to grave violations to the constitutional right of third persons
04:49to their right to life, liberty, property, and even security.
04:54And that is why they were ordered right away to cease and desist from performing any act
05:02or omission that violates the petitioner's rights to life, liberty, or property.
05:09And they were ordered to remove any blockade or barrier that may hinder the petitioner's
05:15rights to life, liberty, or property.
05:18But what happened after that, your honor, was that the cathedral was likewise barred
05:26and cordoned, and no member can anymore pray therein.
05:32The JMC school was likewise cordoned, and no student can likewise use the same.
05:40Even the hangar was controlled by the policemen, and even the lawns and gardens cannot anymore
05:48be used by the members, despite and in spite of the effectivity of the temporary protection
05:55order.
05:56We see, therefore, your honor, here a wanton violation by the police, despite the fact
06:04that they took an oath to serve and protect.
06:08And we pray, your honor, that we will be given the chance to show a blow-by-blow account
06:14of the various and wanton violations made by the police against the constitutional rights
06:22of the members of KOJC and Davaueños in general, your honor.