SAN PABLO CITY, Laguna – After more than four years in detention, Eugene Eugenio is finally free.

Eugenio was president of the Advancement of Rights and Responsibilities of Organized Workers (ARROW), an employees’ union of the Antipolo City local government. On March 7, 2021, he was arrested on charges of illegal possession of firearms and ammunition. His arrest was part of Bloody Sunday, a series of operations across the Southern Tagalog region that resulted in the deaths of nine activists and arrest of five others.

“The acquittal of Eugene Eugenio is a victory not only for him but for the collective resistance of all those fighting against oppression,” said human rights alliance Karapatan Rizal coordinator Saara Rapisora. “It is a reminder that despite state repression, truth and justice will ultimately prevail.”

Karapatan Rizal said, “Those responsible for these grave human rights violations remain unaccountable. […] The deceitful tactics of the NTF-ELCAC such as fabricated and faulty search warrants, planted evidence, and unjust detention or arrest continue unabated and severely violate fundamental rights to due process.”

In the four years since Bloody Sunday in 2021, no arrests have been made and no investigations have found anybody guilty. In the case of Manny Asuncion, Chai Lemita-Evangelista and Ariel Evangelista, the Department of Justice moved to dismiss their cases due to “lack of evidence” linking the state to their murders.

The lack of justice for the Asuncion and Evangelista cases has led their families to seek justice elsewhere, including filing an appeal with the United Nations’ Human Rights Commission. Lemita-Evangelista’s mother Enda and Asuncion’s widow Liezel gave their testimonies last year during the House Quad Committee hearings on former president Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs, describing the events of Bloody Sunday as “political tokhang.”

At least four cases were rejected by the DOJ on grounds of “not being politically motivated.” These were the cases of cousins Randy and Puroy dela Cruz, indigenous Dumagat who led community resistance against the construction of the Kaliwa-Kanan-Laiban Dams, and of brothers Abner and Edward Esto, banana farmers and urban poor rights activists.

Of the six arrested during Bloody Sunday, Eugenio was only the third whose charges were dropped. He followed human rights defender Nimfa Lanzanas and government employee Ramir Corcolon whose charges were dismissed in 2022. 

In Rizal, peasant advocate Joan Efren and 70-year old farmer Victor Grego still “continue to defend themselves in court,” according to Karapatan Rizal. Likewise, former unionist Mags Camoral faces delays in court procedure despite being out on bail. Labor leader Steve Mendoza, meanwhile, remains detained in Calamba City, Laguna province. Like Camoral, his case continues to move at a snail’s pace.

Karapatan Rizal repeated the demand to free all political prisoners in the country, stressing that they “endure similar injustices and continue to suffer from state repression for exercising their legitimate rights to dissent and organize.” (AMU, DAA)