Protests dispersed, 22 nabbed, charged
First posted 01:28am (Mla time) Feb 25, 2006
By DJ Yap, Tarra V. Quismundo, Edson C. Tandoc Jr.
Inquirer PUBLIC defiance marked the state of emergency declared by President Macapagal-Arroyo yesterday, with street protesters scuffling with antiriot police and at least 22 of them arrested.
"We have so many ironies today, not least of which is the fact that in January 2001, we were on the same march on Edsa, and she (Ms Arroyo) was at the Edsa Shrine, waiting for us to give her the presidency. And now she's stopping us," said University of the Philippines professor and Inquirer columnist Randy David shortly before he was arrested by policemen in plainclothes.
David, along with Akbayan president Ronald Llamas and lawyer Argee Guevarra, was taken in a green Toyota Corolla sedan (plate number WJU-141) to Camp Karingal, according to Akbayan media officer Percy Senda¤a.
The three were charged with illegal assembly and inciting to sedition, but were released early last night.
In Makati City at 7:30 last night, a phalanx of antiriot police took demonstrators by surprise and succeeded in pushing them away from the intersection of Ayala Avenue and Paseo de Roxas, where former President Corazon Aquino had earlier addressed them.
http://news.inq7.net/nation/index.php?index=1&story_id=67400DAY TWO
Raid, arrests mark state of emergency
First posted 06:47pm (Mla time) Feb 25, 2006
INQ7.net A DAY after President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo placed the Philippines under a state of emergency, at least three of her political nemeses including a leftist lawmaker were arrested and a national newspaper raided Saturday.
Nine other party-list and opposition lawmakers eluded policemen in plainclothes who the legislators believe were out to also take them.
Planned demonstrations to mark the 20th year of freedom from a repressive regime of Ferdinand Marcos have been barred.
Anakpawis Representative Crispin Beltran was arrested as he was leaving his farmhouse just outside Manila, the leftist Bayan Muna (Nation First) group said in a statement.
Retired general Ramon Montaño, who served as security chief in metropolitan Manila in the late 1980s and publicly backed the removal of Arroyo in a television interview on Friday, was arrested separately. Rex Piad, former chief of the directorial staff of the PNP, was arrested with Montaño.
http://news.inq7.net/top/index.php?index=1&story_id=67480