CHR spokesperson Jacqueline de Guia said on Wednesday that the commission is concerned about the alleged warrantless arrest of Maria Victoria Beltran last April 19, after allegedly spreading ‘fake news’ about high coronavirus infection rates in the said sitio.
“We stress that human rights cannot be suspended even during public emergencies. Restrictions to freedoms are also bound by the parameters set by human rights law and should never lead to their abrogation,” she noted. “Beltran was also said to have taken down the post after Cebu Mayor Edgar Labella threatened her with an arrest,” she explained.
“In this regard, we hope that we can channel our collective energies and efforts to curbing the transmission of Covid-19 and addressing the socio-economic needs on the ground brought about by the loss of livelihood due to enhanced quarantine, which is equally pressing human rights concerns,” she added.