Losing their source of income due to the COVID-19 pandemic has forced jeepney drivers and transport group PISTON members Severino Ramos, Wilson Ramilla, Ramon Paloma, Ruben Baylon, Arsenio Ymas and Elmer Cordero to stage a protest at Edsa Monumento last June 2.
Asking the government to lift the ban on jeepneys too as other modes of transportation have already slowly resumed their operations, the six were first asked by the police to leave. However, their refusal to comply led to their detainment afterward due to a violation of the ban on “non-essential” mass gathering and resistance and disobedience to authorities.
As of June 8, only Ramos, Paloma, Baylon and Ymas were freed from detention after court records showed that 72-year-old Cordero has a namesake with a criminal charge.
Meanwhile, police stated that 43-year-old Ramilla has an undismissed previous carnapping case, which the latter claimed that he already finished serving his sentence for.
Their arrest has caught the public’s attention and sympathy, which eventually led to donations being pooled for their bail as well as cash assistance for their families to use while the ban on jeepneys is still not lifted. Collectively called by the public as Piston 6, Ramos, Ramilla, Paloma, Baylon, Ymas and Cordero also received immediate legal support from approximately 20 lawyers who volunteered to be part of their counsel.
Despite these, Piston 6 had to stay behind bars over the weekend as Caloocan City Metropolitan Trial Court’s internet connection problems on June 5 delayed the release of the case’s resolution, as stated by their lawyer VJ Topacio.
With their ages ranging from 43 to 72, Piston 6 raised concerns about the lack of physical distancing in the congested detention facility amid the pandemic. As stated by CDC, the elderly are more vulnerable to COVID-19. According to Caloocan police chief Police Colonel Dario Menor, approximately 600 persons are in their custody.
“They cannot move inside the holding facility. That is what pains me. This is a minor case—simple disobedience—but this is what they have to go through,” said Topacio.
Header photo from Inquirer.net
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