The Katribu Kalipunan ng Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas welcomed the release of Lumad rights advocates Julieta Gomez and Niezel Velasco from nearly four years of detention. In the first week of April, the two were acquitted of illegal possession of firearms and explosives charges filed against them by the state.

Gomez is a Manobo from San Luis, Agusan del Sur. She served as a council member of the Kahugpungan sa mga Lumadnong Organisasyon sa Caraga. Velasco is coordinator for Bread for Emergency and Development, an institution active in providing aid and disaster relief to victims in Caraga.

Police and 4th ID elements arrested the two on July 16, 2021, in Barangay Pansol, Quezon City. They were reportedly arrested based on a warrant issued by a Mindanao court. State forces claimed to have found weapons and explosives in their home, forming the basis for the illegal possession charges.

In its April 4 decision, the court ruled the police discovery of the weapons was not accidental but deliberate. The court found that police and military personnel served the warrant with a premeditated intent to conduct a search, violating the victims’ constitutional rights.

“The police narrative failed to convince the court, exposing their lies,” National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) president Atty. Ephraim Cortez commented regarding the ruling. “The court believes the police merely used the plain view doctrine as a pretext to legitimize the illegal search,” the lawyer added.

Katribu national coordinator Beverly Longid demanded accountability from those involved in the arrest and years of unjust detention. “Despite their acquittal, the police and false witnesses remain unpunished for wrongful arrest and detention. Justice remains elusive as long as absence of accountability persists,” Longid stated.

The indigenous leader added that the arrest and prolonged detention of Gomez and Velasco occurred under the Duterte administration, marked by intensified state repression against indigenous communities and their defenders.

According to Katribu, four years of imprisonment did not break the spirit of Gomez and Velasco. Both expressed readiness to continue their fight for Lumad and national minority rights. The group hailed their courage as a “powerful reminder” that repression cannot silence the people’s demands.