Twenty members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI+) arrested earlier during a rally on Sunday expressed concern that they might get infected with COVID-19.
“Members of Pride 20 have been confined in the Manila Police District Headquarters for 3 days now,” the group said in a statement released through women’s group Gabriela.
Despite the violent and illegal arrest, and the risk of contracting COVID infection here in the public and cramped detention facility, they said their spirits remain indomitable.
As of today, June 28, 2020 the City Prosecutor has yet to decide whether to dismiss or forward to the court the charges filed against us.
The Manila Police District seeks to charge them for alleged violations of the Public Assembly Law (BP 880) and Article 151 of the Revised Penal Code on “Resistance and Disobedience to a Person in Authority or the Agents of such Person” in relation to RA 11332 (Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases Law).