NEWS RELEASE
29 JULY 2014
A child-focused NGO lambasted the Philippine National Police (PNP) and BS Aquino over human rights violations committed against the protesters during yesterday’s SONA ng Mamamayan along Commonwealth Avenue.
According to the group,the PNP’s pronouncement that they observed “maximum tolerance” in handling thousands of protesters was a big fat lie. “The protest was peaceful and no violent actions were initiated by the protesters. However,the PNP used brute force by dispersing the people using water cannon,” said Kharlo Manano, secretary-general of SALINLAHI, an alliance of various children’s organizations in the Philippines.
Manano also cited a case documented by Children’s Rehabilitation Center (CRC), a member-organization of SALINLAHI. A certain Police Superintendent Pagulayan together with other QCPD policemen arrived at the protest area in Brgy. Batasan Hills and dispersed the protesters who were massing up in preparation for yesterday’s action. Nene (not her real name), a 12-year old girl who joined the protest action, was sitting inside their jeepney together with her father, when Pagulayan approached her father and forcibly got his car key. Pagulayan even used a stun gun to attack Nene and her father, who were later forcibly dragged down from the jeepney.
SALINLAHI was further enraged with the callous response of the QCPD Station 6 when Nene’s father was about to file a blotter. A certain PO2 Mary Jane Casinao of QCPD women’s desk even threatened to incarcerate him because he brought his daughter to the SONA rally.
The PNP further reiterated this line of reasoning when they accused militants of violating human rights for bringing women and children in the SONA rally.
Manano pointed out that the PNP is continually hitting the issue of children’s participation in various civic actions such as rallies in order to mislead the public and cover up their abuses and infringement of people’s rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of speech. The PNP’s lies is tantamount to the lies spawned out by their boss, BS Aquino during his SONA speech regarding the Philippine situation.
“The declaration made by the PNP that women and children are being “used” in protest actions clearly belittles their right to meaningful participation and reflects the PNP’s ignorance of women and children’s rights,” Manano continued.
More so, Salinlahi encourages not just women and children but the Filipino people to voice out their disgust of the Aquino government who is the biggest violator of children’s rights, and people’s rights and welfare. “BS Aquino cannot deny thefact that the “changes” and “transformation” he stated in his SONA yesterday wasnever felt by millions of impoverished Filipino families and this is the reasonwhy the Filipino people including children clamor for genuine change and hisouster!” Manano ended.
click the link for video coverage of TV5: JEEPNEY DRIVER AT ANAK NA ‘DI KASAMA SA RALLY, KINURYENTE RAW NG PULIS
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