Senator Risa Hontiveros has filed a resolution urging the Senate to look into the warrantless arrest of Director Jade Castro and his three friends who were accused of burning a modernized passenger jeepney in Catanauan town last January 31.

In filing Senate Resolution No. 928, Hontiveros directed her appeal to the Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs, calling on the panel to probe the circumstances surrounding the arrest of Castro, Ernesto Orcimen, Noel Mariano, and Dominic Ramos—who were arrested without warrant on Feb. 1, 2024.

“No less than the Supreme Court, in several cases, have affirmed that warrantless arrests can only be done under aforementioned circumstances,” Hontiveros said. 

Hontiveros said that while several witnesses were said to have provided positive identification and pointed to the filmmaker and hs companions as the alleged culprits, other witnesses from the local government unit (LGU) of Mulanay, Quezon, testified that the director and his friends were actually in Mulanay, Quezon, the adjacent town while the crime was happening. 

“Closed circuit television (CCTV) footage provided by the LGU of Mulanay also shows that Director Castro and his group can be seen in Mulanay at around the time the crime was supposed to be happening in Catanauan, Quezon which is around 30 minutes away by vehicle from Mulanay,” she pointed out.

Various artist groups have also spoken out to stand by Castro’s innocence. The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) has also expressed doubts about the legality of their arrests. 

Lawyers from the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG), who visited Castro and his group in detention have also called out the injustice done against them.

“There is a need to determine whether the operational guidelines and protocols that our law enforcers follow are sufficient and are being followed so as to not arbitrarily deprive citizens of liberty nor cast doubts when they perform their swornd duty to protect and to serve the people,” Hontiveros stressed.