PNP defends raids, says activists fought back. Inquirer Newsletter. March 9, 2021.

No images? Click here   Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, are interviewed by Oprah Winfrey in this undated handout photo.      World Seoul: No link between deaths, COVID vaccine South Korea said on Monday it had found no link between the coronavirus vaccine and several recent deaths, as it ordered nearly 100,000 foreign workers to be tested after clusters emerged in dormitories. —Story by REUTERS Read more: newsinfo.inquirer.net   News Drilon hits ‘guilty until proven innocent’ bill Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon on Monday added his voice to the chorus of objections to House Bill No. 7814, warning the House of Representatives that its passage would impinge on constitutional presumption of innocence and make it easy for authorities to arrest and detain anyone from landowners to janitors as drug “protectors” or “coddlers.” —Story by DJ Yap and Julie M. Aurelio Read more: newsinfo.inquirer.net   Newsletter / Join us Has this been forwarded by a friend? Subscribe now to the Philippine Daily Inquirer Newsletter and get your latest news and important updates on COVID-19. Subscribe     Subscribe   Banner Story PNP defends raids, says activists fought back By Jeannette I. Andrade, Marlon Ramos and Krixia Subingsubing @Team_Inquirer The Philippine National Police maintained on Monday the legitimacy of its operations in the Calabarzon region that led to the deaths of nine activists and the arrest of six others on Sunday. A spokesperson for the Calabarzon police, Lt. Col. Chitadel Gaoiran, said the fatalities were the subjects of search warrants and engaged police and soldiers in armed confrontations—or in Filipino, “nanlaban.” Gaoiran said the joint police-military operations were a simultaneous implementation of search warrants for loose firearms and explosives. “[T]hese [are] considered legitimate operations. We [were] armed with search warrants. We never wanted [the encounters]. As much as possible we do not want that but unfortunately there were nine persons killed in the police operations,” she said. Gen. Debold Sinas, the PNP chief, made the same assertion at a ceremony on Monday in Camp Crame. “It’s a legitimate operation because they are covered by search warrants,” Sinas said of Sunday’s raids. “If you know how difficult it is to get search warrants, then you would understand. You have to justify the charge, [have] witnesses. That cannot be illegitimate as what they [the activists] are saying.” Reds are true targets Officials on Monday had yet to release the identities of the nine fatalities. But the Calabarzon police, in a statement on Facebook posted on Sunday night, claimed the operations targeted members of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA). Rights group Karapatan identified five of the fatalities as members of activist organizations in the region. —WITH REPORTS FROM NESTOR CORRALES AND JEANNETTE I. ANDRADE INQ Read more: newsinfo.inquirer.net   Editorial Sinister ‍presumptions The sinister presumptions in House Bill No. 7814 indicate how far administration allies are willing to thrash fundamental human rights to continue to enable a drug war that has unleashed unprecedented violence on the country, but has failed to dent the illegal drug supply or put drug lords behind bars. Read full story: opinion.inquirer.net   Copyright © 2020 PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: P.O. Box 2353, Makati Central Post Office, 1263 Makati City, Philippines.   Share    Tweet    Share    Forward  Preferences  |  Unsubscribe