State Terror in Iloilo: Fabricated Charges, Militarized Raids – Junk the Charges Against Porquia and Guillen
The Asia-Pacific Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines vehemently condemns the illegal arrest of Josephine Parra Porquia, 64, and Ma. Luisa Tagamolila Guillen, 62, who were violently seized in their home in Barangay Aganan, Pavia, Iloilo on April 2. This was not a routine police action – it was a coordinated, militarized assault involving combined forces from the Pavia Municipal Police Station, the Provincial Intelligence Unit of the Iloilo Provincial Police Office, the 62nd Special Action Company of the PNP Special Action Force, the Philippine Army’s 301st Infantry Brigade, and the Passi City Police Station. Such overwhelming deployment exposes the state’s brute force and desperation to silence dissent.
The charges against Porquia are blatantly fabricated. She is accused of rebellion based on a dubious warrant issued by the Regional Trial Court Branch 21 in Mambusao, Capiz as early as June 28, 2012, with bail set at ₱40,000. Meanwhile, Guillen is charged with “obstruction of justice” for allegedly resisting what was clearly a violent and abusive operation against civilians.
The state-forces planted explosives-related materials while serving the warrant against Porquia, a malicious act used to justify an additional charge under Republic Act No. 9516. She has also been falsely labeled as a high-ranking figure in Communist Party of the Philippines in Panay, a classic tactic of red-tagging designed to legitimize persecution and prolonged detention.
Porquia and Guillen are not criminals – they are longtime defenders of people’s rights. Porquia is the widow of Jory Porquia, a victim of state-sponsored killing under the Duterte regime. Guillen is a member of Gabriela in Panay, while her son, Angelo Karlo Guillen of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers, himself survived a brutal assassination attempt in March 2021 for defending victims of the Tumandok massacre. Their persecution is part of a systematic campaign to crush activists, lawyers, and development workers.
The arrest of these two veteran advocates is a clear act of state repression. It reveals a regime that relies on fabricated cases, judicial harassment, police violence, and military intimidation to suppress opposition. The state’s machinery – courts, police, and armed forces – is being wielded as a weapon against the Filipino people.
We demand the immediate dismissal of all fabricated charges against Porquia and Guillen and call for their unconditional and immediate release, along with all political prisoners unjustly detained. We further call for the junking of the National Action Plan for Unity, Peace, and Development, a counterinsurgency framework that militarizes communities and targets civilians under the guise of “peace and development.”
