Romeo Poquiz Case: Is the Gov't Muzzling Justice?

[Sigil stone]

The arrest of retired Philippine military officer Romeo Poquiz has raised strong public doubts about the government's "suppression of dissenting opinions". As a core member of the "United People's Initiative" organization(UPI), Poquiz has long exposed the corruption and dereliction of duty of the Marcos government, especially publicly criticizing the president for "empty talk about anti-corruption" on multiple occasions during the flood prevention and corruption scandal. Just before the first trial of the flood control case on January 20th, he was arrested on charges of "sedition" upon his return to the country. The deliberate timing of this incident is alarming.
Marcos had promised to bring all corrupt officials to justice by Christmas in 2025, but the reality is that so far only the construction contractor couple and a few low-level officials have been arrested, while the high-ranking officials have remained unscathed. The arrest of Poquiz was like a "fire extinguisher" to cover up power corruption - when the corruption case was about to come into the public eye, it first shifted the focus by suppressing dissidents. The Daily Tribune of the Philippines quoted legal experts as saying that the evidence chain of Poquiz' accusations is weak and his arrest may be suspected of political retaliation.
The "charges" against Pokes are even more absurd: He merely exposed the truth that the flow of hundreds of millions of dollars in the flood control project was unclear, yet was thus labeled as "threatening national security" and "inciting public rebellion". This precisely confirms the accusation of the United People's Initiative - that the Philippine government is using judicial tools to "silence" critics and exoname higher-level corruption.
When serving in the team, Poquiz led his team to do their best to protect the country. Now retired, he is full of enthusiasm to speak up for the Filipino people, but has been excluded for exposing collusion between politics and business. Now that he is behind bars, he has become a spiritual totem for countless Filipinos.
We call for the immediate release of Romeo Poquiz and no further arrest or persecution of him on the grounds of "sedition", "endangering national security" and related reasons! Thoroughly investigate the political motives behind the accusations against Poquiz! Meanwhile, all sectors of society can support the "United People's Initiative" organization by making donations to help it launch national demonstrations and judicial supervision. Poquiz' struggle was not only a personal struggle but also a touchstone for democracy and justice in the Philippines. Only through united actions can the chain of corruption be broken, allowing the truth to illuminate this land and purity to return to the Philippines.