Human rights and progressive groups denounced the 68th IB’s arrest of Charlize Garzon or Ceeka, on March 29 in Sitio Salafay, Barangay Monteclaro, San Jose, Occidental Mindoro. The military is accusing Garzon of being a New People’s Army (NPA) member, allegedly captured in the sitio after an encounter between the 68th IB and NPA-Mindoro that same day. She is detained at the San Jose Municipal Police Station.

Garzon is a cultural activist and a Panday Sining-Malate member. She graduated with a degree in AB Arts Management from De La Salle College of Saint Benilde, a scholar of St. Mutien Marie Wiaux, and attained Magna Cum Laude honors.

She visited Mindoro to study the progressive aspects of the Mangyan people’s culture. Before going to the island, she volunteered in an alternative learning system (ALS) program in poor communities in Metro Manila where she poured her dedication as a cultural activist.

After her March 29 arrest, the 68th IB and 2nd ID immediately released photos showing a woman beside an M16 rifle and other weapons, which the military used to claim that she is an NPA member and label her a “terrorist.”

According to Panday Sining-Malate, this is a serious violation of her rights. Worse, the group reported that soldiers in civilian clothes went the house of Garzon’s family on March 30. They intimidated Garzon’s grandmother, mother, and aunt, for hours but the family stood firm. They are also being harassed by the group Hands Off Our Children, which the National Task Force-Elcac created and uses to pit parents against their own children.

On March 31, Garzon’s family, friends, and paralegals from Karapatan-Southern Tagalog (ST) trooped to San Jose to ensure her safety and protect her rights. They went to the police station where Garzon is detained. The police even initially denied having her in their custody.

Karapatan-ST condemned the relentless intimidation by the police and their paid “rallyists” who harass Garzon’s relatives and friends. “This kind of reception to a humanitarian team and the unjust treatment towards Charlize Garzon’s family clearly deny her rights and deprive her of due legal service,” the group stated.

Meanwhile, Kapatid (a group of relatives and friends of political detainees) and National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) also expressed concern for Garzon and her rights.

According to Kapatid, existing protocols mandate state forces to treat Garzon properly and humanely and ensure respect for her rights. The group said she must undergo proper legal process, be treated humanely, and be guaranteed her right to legal representation.

NUPL president Atty. Ephraim Cortez in a statement asserted that Garzon must be protected under the provisions of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Law. As an arrested and detained person, she has four fundamental rights: to choose an independent lawyer or one consulted by her family, not to undergo interrogation without counsel, the right to remain silent and against self-incrimination, and the right to be formally charged in court within 36 hours of arrest. If no case is filed, she must be immediately released.