The University of the Philippines (UP) professor who was arrested in Quezon City for alleged non-remittance of her housemaid’s Social Security System (SSS) contributions has already been released from police custody, the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) confirmed.
The QCPD said Melania Flores, 58, was collared in her house in Barangay UP Campus in Quezon City at around 11 a.m. on Monday. She was the nationwide president of the UP Academic Employees Union.
Police made the arrest based on a warrant of arrest issued against Flores for violation of Republic Act 8282 or the Social Security Act of 1997 issued by Quezon City Branch 230 Presiding Judge Maria Gilda Loja Pangalinan with a P72,000 bail recommended for her temporary liberty.
The QCPD confirmed that Flores was released on Monday, Feb. 6, from custody in the QCPD Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit (CIDU) in Camp Karingal, in the city after she posted bail.
She was accompanied by UP Faculty Regent Carl Marc Ramota, UP Diliman Chancellor Fidel Nimenzo, and All UP Academic Employees Union (AUPAEU) Vice President for Faculty Rommel Rodriguez, according to the UP Office of the Faculty Regent (OFR).
The OFR, the university student council, and other organizations/associations of educators condemned how the professor was collared by the police officers inside the campus. The lawmen allegedly introduced themselves as Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) providing aid to households before serving the warrant of arrest to Flores.
The OFR also called for the investigation of the “serious lapses on protocol” committed by the policemen during the arrest, saying that it is a violation of the accord with the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) which prohibits police officers from entering the campus without consent from its administration.
Ramota said that there was no prior coordination regarding the arrest between the campus authorities and the police. He also urged university officials to use all administrative and legal resources to promote and uphold academic freedom.
In an interview with DZBB Teleradyo, Flores aired out that her arrest did not go