Ombudsman junks criminal, admin charges vs cops who arrested Tinang 83

One police officer reprimanded

MANILA — The Office of the Ombudsman has junked criminal and administrative charges against around 30 police personnel involved in the arrest of Tinang 83 in Tarlac last year.

Instead, a police officer was found guilty of discourtesy in the course of official duty and was reprimanded.

Tinang 83 are farmers, advocates and students who were arrested in June 2022 for allegedly causing damage at a disputed land in Concepcion, Tarlac.

But a Tarlac court junked the illegal assembly and malicious mischief cases against them.

• Tarlac court junks charges against 'Tinang 83'

The criminal charges against the policemen that the Ombudsman junked included arbitrary detention, unlawful arrest, cruel, inhuman, degrading treatment, false testimony, perjury, violation of rights of detained/arrested, and public spaces sexual harassment.

The Ombudsman also dismissed four administrative raps, namely conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service, grave abuse of authority, grave misconduct, and oppression.

In a 33-page consolidated resolution dated August 18 and approved by Deputy Ombudsman for Military and Other Law Enforcement Offices Jose Balmeo, Jr. on September 15, the Ombudsman said the police personnel had “sufficient basis to conduct an arrest, since the bungkalan activity was conducted on private property and sugarcane plants, regardless of value, were destroyed.”

Citing “logic” and “surrounding circumstances” in weighing conflicting versions of what happened, the Ombudsman cited the negotiations as proof that the police officers tried to resolve the issue properly.

“Complainants were asked to discontinue the activity, and while they claimed that they complied, they also admitted that they remained in the area and continued with their program,” it said.

The arrest became controversial because Tinang 83 alleged it was marred by violence, which resulted in injuries, a claim the Ombudsman dismissed.

“There is nothing in the records to support such an allegation. On the other hand, in OMB-P-C-JAN-23-0015/OMB-P-A-JAN-23-0014, complainants narrated that when respondents tried to arrest Militar and Camposagrado, several of them tried to stop it, hence supporting respondents’ claim that they were prevented from conducting arrests,” the resolution said in junking the unlawful arrest and perjury raps.

“Notably, the courts’ dismissal of the charges of Malicious Mischief and Illegal Assembly are not grounded on merit but for want of jurisdiction and/or defect in the information,” it added, characterizing the warrantless arrest as legitimate.

The Ombudsman also ruled there was no violation of Republic Act 7438 which governs the rights of persons arrested, detained or under custodial investigation.

Some of those arrested had complained they were not informed of their rights and the charges against them, were not subjected to medical examination, and were examined without their own lawyers.

But the Ombudsman cited presumption of regularity in favor of the policemen, saying there is “no independent evidence” to support the allegations.

It also excused the absence of medical examination and the delay in their release as due to the sheer number of those arrested and faulted them for not demanding to see a medical doctor. Four hours of delay, it said, is a “reasonable period of delay” and there was no arbitrary detention.

Tinang 83 said some of them were subjected to miserable conditions and handcuffed for more than 6 hours, alleging cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment but according to the Ombudsman, “being placed in handcuffs and/or inside the holding cell are consequences of arrest, and not deliberate acts of cruelty.

But the Ombudsman reprimanded Police Lt. Col. Reynold Macabitas for “discourtesy in the course of official duty” after he subjected one of the detainees to sexist remarks.

“PLTCOL Macabitas’ comments on Montalban’s beauty and lack of relationship, as witnessed by Bucad, may be considered as uninvited comments or gestures on a person’s appearance and/or requests for personal details,” it said.

“The same, however, may not be considered a violation of RA 11313 since the law requires that the uninvited comments or gestures on a person’s appearance must be persistent, and that the requests for personal details must be relentless. Nonetheless, such behavior from PLTCOL Macabitas may be subject of an administrative sanction.”

Reacting to the ruling, agricultural workers from the Unyon ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (UMA) called the reprimand a “slap on the wrist.”

“Sino ang nakikinabang sa pagbubulag-bulagan ng mga ahensya ng estado sa abuso ng kapulisan sa uring magsasaka at mga tagasuporta nito?” said UMA acting chairperson Ariel ‘Ka Ayik’ Casilao in a statement. “Hindi ba’t mga landgrabber na nasa poder?”

“Bungad pa man din ng Buwan ng mga Pesante, sana man lang ay pumanig ang estado sa mismong mga magsasakang estado rin ang naggawad ng lupa. Napakatagal na ngang ipinagkakait sa kanila ang kanilang sakahan, pati ba naman hustisya’y ipagkakait pa?” he added.

On Wednesday, farmer-beneficiaries of MAKISAMA-Tinang and peasant advocates from Sama-samang Artista para sa Kilusang Agraryo (SAKA) filed a motion for reconsideration with the Office of the Ombudsman.

The group said the Department of Agrarian Reform, in 1995, had already ruled that the 200-hectare hacienda in Concepcion, Tarlac should be distributed to 236 farmer-beneficiaries.

Farmer-beneficiaries of MAKISAMA-Tinang and peasant advocates from SAKA filed a motion for reconsideration with the Ombudsman. Mike Navallo, ABS-CBN News/cite>

Farmer-beneficiaries of MAKISAMA-Tinang and peasant advocates from SAKA filed a motion for reconsideration with the Ombudsman. Mike Navallo, ABS-CBN News/cite>

Farmer-beneficiaries of MAKISAMA-Tinang and peasant advocates from SAKA filed a motion for reconsideration with the Ombudsman. Mike Navallo, ABS-CBN News/cite>

“Bilang farmer-beneficiaries, karapatan nilang bungkalin ang kanilang lupa at mag-imbita ng peasant advocates para suportahan ang kanilang paggigiit ng kontrol sa lupa,” Casilao said.

“Kung may dapat managot sa nangyari sa bungkalan sa Hacienda Tinang noong 2022, ito ay ang kapulisang nanghimasok sa isang agrarian dispute — at bawal manghimasok ang pulis at militar sa ganitong sitwasyon.”

“Nakikiusap ang agri-workers sa Ombudsman na suriin muli ang resolusyon ng kanilang tanggapan,” he added. “Sangkaterbang abuso na ang pinagdaanan ng MAKISAMA-Tinang at ng Tinang 83, at panibagong abuso lamang ang hayaang umiral ang impunidad ng Concepcion police.”