By: Ranie Jangayo
I think the Iloilo provincial police was wrong in the way they treated and arrested Manuel “Boy” Mejorada last June 7, 2019.
I am not a lawyer but in my personal view as a media-man and based on the claims by Mejorada when he was served the arrest warrant, I saw that he was treated as a hardened criminal.
Were the cops excessive? Methinks they were. Nga-a kinahanglan gid maghana ka gabut-gabuton ang service firearm kon indi man halang nga kriminal ang ginaserbehan mo warrant?
And besides, libel is not a serious case, but why did the police, led by this Major Jonathan Pinuela, chief of the Provincial Special Operations Group (PSOG), treat Boy as if he committed a heinous or horrendous crime like mass murder?
Our lawyer friends also asked: Ngaa piliton gid nga sa Biyernes kag ituon sa kagab-ihon ang pagserbe kon pwede man sa adlaw?
This is not a peace and order problem. It’s just a libel case, which is very ordinary to journalists.
Is this the kind of briefing made by Colonel Marlon Tayaba to the PSOG? What made this case very special to our Provincial Special Operations Group?
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Before anything else, I am alarmed by the rising trend in colon cancer. I have some friends who suffer this kind of cancer which can only be detected at an advanced stage, meaning lip-ot na lang taning mo. Various research indicate that colon cancer is related to diet or the food we eat.
Halong gid sa ginakaon ta, especially kon halin sa kinawatan, kinilkilan, ukon pahamham.
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Now back to Mr. Mejorada’s case.
Legal luminary Marven Daquilanea objected to the way Pinuela and his team served the arrest warrant to Mejorada. This was his reaction posted on his Facebook page:
“I strongly disagree with serving the warrants of arrest on Boy Mejorada at dusk of Friday, or any weekday for that matter. The crimes charged are all bailable in five counts. The indictment is not drug trafficking, pushing or murder. While I believe that in many instances Mr. Mejorada has gone beyond the limits of fair journalism and even the limits of the law but still he is entitled to a chance to post bail. The Warrants could have been served earlier or, if issued late in the day, serve on Saturday when there is a Judge as OIC who could approve the cash or bailbond. There is no sense in rushing the service of the warrants. Sometimes we are challenged by our affiliations to keep quiet about the miseries that others face. But I’ve been taught to speak out when it is the right thing to do even if it is unpopular. This is one of those. It is wrong!”
What’s admirable about this is that Atty. Marvs helped prepare the case against Mr. Mejorada, but he was just and wise enough to say these things.
We really appreciate his comment. Hats off ako dyan!
