Militant youth leader’s mom arrested in supposed buy-bust
The mother of militant youth leader Kristine Cabardo was arrested on Wednesday afternoon for alleged possession of firearms.
Mary Ann Cabardo, including the whole family who were then enjoying a day in a beach in Linamon, Iligan City, were arrested by police in an alleged drug buy-bust operation.
Police said they were able to buy a small sachet of suspected shabu using the marked money worth P200. Upon her arrest, 4 more pieces of alleged shabu were
supposedly confiscated. According to Kabataan Partylist of which Cabardo is an official, Cabardo’s mom was forced by police to own the drugs allegedly found in the family’s motorcycle.
The arresting officials were personnel in plain clothes or personnel not in uniform, the youth group said.
“Cabardo’s mother is still currently in the custody of the Linamon Police Station without any clear charges to file,” it says.
“We condemn the state’s desperation to silent activists such as Kristine, who champions the rights of basic sectors. We condemn their desperate moves, going as far as charging their families for crimes that they did not commit,” the group added.
Kristine was among the 13 militant leaders who were arrested in General Santos City last July 5. They later released on bail 3 days later.
Meanwhile, Police Superintendent Surki Sereñas, spokesperson of the Police Regional Office 10 said the Cabardos are welcome to file a complaint aganst the arresting officers, if they feel their rights were violated.
“We do not know her personally. If she believes that she is being singled out because she is involved in the arrest in Gen Santos City, she is terribly wrong. We won’t have anything to gain if we arrest her or her family,” Sereñas said.
“If she believes there were irregularity in the police operation, we are even willing to help her file complaints. We do not and will never condone abuse or irregularities in police operations. Not now that we are almost at the finish line of the illegal-drugs campaign,” he added.