Police charges against Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment spokesperson Jonila Castro for violating Batas Pambansa (BP) 880 or the Public Assembly Act of 1985 did not reach the court. The Pasig City Office of the Prosecutor dismissed the complaint for lack of sufficient basis and evidence against Castro.

Castro faced the complaint after participating in a protest on September 4 in front of the St. Gerrard Construction building, owned by the Discayas, one of the contractors involved in corruption-laden flood control projects. The protesters hurled mud at the company’s logo and gate as a symbolic display of their outrage.

The Discayas control not only St. Gerrard but eight other construction companies. A Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) research stated that the nine companies amassed ₱31 billion in 421 infrastructure projects.

Castro earlier asserted that citizens have the right to complain, demand accountability, and protest, especially amid blatant corruption. “The mud thrown and smeared on the gates of the Discayas and at the faces of the thieves and the corrupt are not enough to match the filth and poverty people sink in every day,” she said.

The Environmental Defenders Congress welcomed the dismissal of the complaint. According to the group, Castro’s vindication over the case demonstrated that protesting is a fundamental right.

The group added that the protest against the Discayas proved that resisting a system that deprives people of justice and dignity is a humane act. “The Discaya protest was an outcry of righteous indignation against systemic corruption, that no pretext of ‘peace and order’ should dictate how the masses must articulate their anger,” the group said.

It further emphasized that this fury is rooted in the historical cruelty of hunger and disasters the state inflicts on its own people. “Our struggle against corruption persists and only intensifies, until all of the complicit contractors and public officials are held accountable,” the group declared.