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On Friday, members of the Makabayan bloc called for an investigation and condemned the alleged red label of a Mandaluyong judge who recently ordered the release of a journalist and a trade unionist captured during a police raid.
By presenting Resolution 1674 of the House of Representatives, the Makabayan bloc urged the Justice Committee to convict and examine the surface of a canvas that links Judge Monique Quisumbing-Ignacio of Section 209 of the Mandaluyong Regional Court of First Instance with the communist rebels.
According to the Bloc, this is not the first time that members of the Judiciary have been subjected to threats and harassment after handling cases involving activists and members of progressive groups.
“The red label against Judge Quisumbing-Ignacio comes at a time when threats against members of the legal profession are at an all-time high,” said lawmakers, noting that this state of impunity must end.
Citing data from the Free Legal Assistance Group, the Makabayan bloc said 61 lawyers, including judges and prosecutors, were killed under Duterte’s administration.
Quisumbing-Ignacio led the release of journalist Lady Ann Salem and trade unionist Rodrigo Esparago, who were among those arrested in a controversial series of raids that allegedly dropped illegal firearms.
The charges against Salem, Esparago and everyone else who were arrested in the raids have been branded “fabricated” by critics of the administration, including human rights groups.
The Supreme Court has already ordered an investigation into the alleged red label against the judge. – Anna Felicia Bajo / RSJ, GMA News
