Bayan Muna Party-list has filed on Monday, Feb, 21, House Resolution (HR) 2496 to condemn and to pursue a congressional inquiry on the allegedly unconstitutional arrest and detention of Dr. Maria Natividad Castro by the Philippine National Police (PNP).
Formally titled “Resolution urging the House of Representatives through the Committee on Human Rights to condemn and investigate, in aid of legislation, the arrest of community doctor and human rights defender Ma. Natividad Marian Castro by San Juan Police in Metro Manila," was signed by Bayan Muna Reps. Eufemia Cullamat, Carlos Zarate, and Ferdinand Gaite.
Zarate, in a statement on Feb. 19, had previously described Castro's arrest as "Gestapo-like."
Castro, a volunteer doctor and human rights advocate known for starting community health centers for the Lumads in Mindanao, was arrested by the PNP and elements of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) last Friday, Feb. 18 at her home in San Juan, Metro Manila for alleged ties to the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA).
She was arrested on the basis of a warrant issued by the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 7 of Bayugan City, Agusan del Sur, accusing her of kidnapping and serious illegal detention. The warrant was dated Jan. 30, 2020.
According to HR 2496, Castro’s siblings witnessed the arrest and said that the police officers who conducted it were dressed in civilian clothes and did not read Castro her Miranda rights. Moreover, the warrant of arrest presented was merely a photocopy, and did not even have Castro’s name written on it.
The PNP allegedly refused to provide any documents or warrants pertinent to Castro’s case.
Castro was denied access to her family or to legal counsel and subsequently transported to Butuan City in Agusan Del Norte without any notice.
Furthermore, HR 2496 stated that prior to her arrest, Castro had allegedly been "red-tagged" in November 2020, when tarpaulins were put up around public spaces in the Caraga region accusing Castro and several others of being “communist NPAs".
“It is imperative for members of Congress, as representatives of our people, to defend the rights of our people and check on excesses and violations, especially in this time of crisis. It must bring perpetrators to account to put a stop to the killings and rights violations against its people. Laws and rules should serve the interest of our people, and should not be weaponized to suppress their rights and oppress them,” read HR 2496.