Probe on film director Jade Castro's arrest sought in Senate

Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros on Tuesday sought a Senate inquiry on the warrantless arrest of film director Jade Castro and his friends over the alleged arson of a modern jeep in Quezon.  

Hontiveros made the call under Senate Resolution 928, noting that Castro and his friends were arrested without warrant.

“Kahit kailan, sa anumang panahon, mali ang “aresto now, paliwanag later,” tulad ng sinapit ni Direk Jade Castro at ng tatlo niyang kasamahan sa bayan ng Catanauan, Quezon,” Hontiveros said. 

(Under all circumstances, "arrest now, explain later" is wrong.)

The PNP has since justified that Castro’s group was arrested without a warrant on a hot pursuit, but this has been questioned by the defendants since there were no charges filed against them when they were arrested.  

The arrest was also made despite CCTV footage showed Castro and his friends were in another town while the modern jeep was being burned. 

The police, however, said that CCTV footage cannot be trusted since these can be altered. 

But Hontiveros took offense at the police’s "mistrust" on CCTV footage.

“Hindi lang nakaka-alarma ang pahayag na ‘yan mula sa mga tagapagpatupad ng batas, nakakabawas rin ito ng tiwala ng publiko,” she said.

(Such comments are alarming coming from law enforcers. It also diminishes the public’s trust in the police.) 

“Tututukan ng Senado ang isyu na ito upang maisulong ang katotohanan, at masigurong naipapatupad nang tama ang batas para sa lahat,” she added.  

(The Senate will certainly look at this with vigilance to ferret out the truth, and ensure that laws are being enforced lawfully for everybody.) —Llanesca T. Panti/ VAL, GMA Integrated News