MANILA — The Quezon City Police District on Saturday announced it had filed complaints against Mar Valbuena — chair of transport group Manibela — and two others for a protest outside the House of Representatives last Monday.

In a release, the QCPD said it is filing complaints for illegal assembly, Alarm and Scandal and Resistance and Disobedience against Valbuena, Reggie Manlapig and Alvin Reyes for the protest, which it said “caused grave public inconvenience and disturbance.”

Protests and rallies in the Philippines are prohibited outside designated freedom parks without a permit from the local government, a requirement that activist groups say curtails freedom of assembly to seek redress from government.

The QCPD said it condemns Manibela’s actions during the protest and claimed they were “certainly uncalled for, especially that our policemen are there to maintain peace and order Transport considering that their assembly is illegal under [Batas Pambansa] 880.”

Transport groups, including Manibela and PISTON, have been protesting the government's Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program and the requirement for jeepney operators to join a transport cooperative as a first step to the eventual phaseout of traditional jeepneys. 

They say joining cooperatives should be voluntary and that the units to replace traiditional jeepneys are too expensive and government subsidies are not enough to help operators buy them.

READ: Piston urges anew SC to halt PUV modernization program

Manibela has yet to issue a statement on the complaints filed by the QCPD, but Valbuena, at the May 6 protest, told media that their protest was orderly and that they had been staying away from lines of police deployed to the area.

“Sila ang nag-provoke, sila ang unang pumukpok, sila ang unang nanakit kaya ganyan ang nangyari,” he said, adding the protesting jeepney drivers and operators would disperse voluntarily.

(The police were the ones who provoked trouble. They were the first to hit us and hurt us.)

He said the protesters were at the House to remind lawmakers of previous statements that the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program should be reviewed.

Reminded they did not have a permit to protest, Valbuena responded: “Totoo po yun, pero hindi po dahilan yun para manakit sa taumbayan.”

(That is true, but that is no reason to hurt citizens.)