Tell it to SunStar: Echanis’ acquittal and the defense of human rights

By Cristina Palabay

KARAPATAN Secretary General

We welcome the acquittal of poet, writer, and peasant women’s organizer Amanda Echanis, who spent more than five years in detention over trumped-up charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives.

Echanis, an organizer of the Cagayan chapter of the Amihan National Federation of Peasant Women, was arrested in the early morning of Dec. 2, 2020, in Barangay Carupian, Baggao, Cagayan, while caring for her month-old infant son. Her arrest was part of a broader crackdown against peasant leaders and organizers in the region.

Her acquittal confirms what we have long maintained: Amanda is innocent, and the charges against her were maliciously manufactured to punish her work among peasants and women.

During the raid, Echanis and the family she was staying with were forced out of the house before security forces entered and allegedly planted firearms, ammunition, and explosives. A search warrant was only presented after the raid had already begun. The legal counsel of Echanis noted that the supposed evidence used against her was found in a room which was not even occupied by Echanis and her child, further exposing the blatant planting of evidence to pin her down on the case.

Echanis continued to assert her rights in detention, while being separated from her child. While in jail, she pursued her studies at the University of the Philippines Diliman, ran for student council, and was elected as the university’s Number 1 student councilor, an unprecedented victory for a political prisoner and a testament to her resilience and commitment to service.

Echanis’ acquittal highlights the systematic use of trumped-up illegal possession of firearms and explosives charges against human rights defenders, which now comprise nearly half of all political prisoner cases nationwide. Many of these cases collapse only after years of unjust detention, often due to contradictory and perjured testimonies by arresting officers.

Echanis should never have spent a single day in jail, much less five years robbed from her and her child. Those who ordered her arrest, planted evidence, lied in court, and prolonged her detention must be held criminally and administratively liable. Without accountability, these abuses will continue.

We reiterate our call for the immediate release of all political prisoners, many of whom remain behind bars under similarly fabricated charges, and for independent investigations into the conduct of state forces involved in political repression. There are currently 697 political prisoners in the country.

Amanda’s freedom should be a welcome victory. However, there are more political prisoners that need to be freed from the charges that keep them in detention. Ultimately, an overhaul of a system that criminalizes protest, dissent, and perpetuates impunity, should be in place.