39 Kadamay members to be charged by police for protest in Pasig
Police will charge the 39 Kadamay members arrested during the protest in Brgy. Sta. Lucia, Pasig City on Thursday.
Senior Supt. Orlando Yebra Jr., acting Pasig City chief of police, said in a text message to the Daily Manila Shimbun the 39 arrested rallyists, eight of whom are minors will be charged with "direct assault, resistance and disobedience to an agent of person in authority and physical injuries".
Yebra said six Bureau of Fire and Protection personnel and four police officers were hurt in the incident.
Around 100 people staged the protest, he said.
The Kadamay members staged a barricade in the area at 7:51 am. to prevent the demolition of their dwellings, claimed Gloria Arellano, chairperson of Kadamay, in a phone interview with Daily Manila Shimbun.
She said residents asked to speak to Pasig City Mayor Maribel Eusebio but she did not appear.
The residents are asking to give to them the land they are occupying because there is no livelihood in the relocation site in Calauan, Laguna, Arellano said.
Arellano said there are around 150 police officers and two fire trucks in the area.
The police provoked the protesters, claimed Arellano. "If there are no demolition why are they so many there?", she said.
Arellano said the police attacked them first using water hoses from the fire truck which prompted the rallyists to throw stones in retaliation.
The policemen, followed by a SWAT team, entered the homes of the residents after the dispersal to arrest those who joined the protest, she said. Arellano said at least 30 Kadamay members was hurt. Alanna Ambi/DMS
