ILOILO — The arrest of a 64-year-old woman in a high-profile, multi-law enforcement agency operation has ignited controversy.
Her son publicly challenged the legality of the operation, alleging “planted evidence” and fabricated charges to justify her detention.
“My Nanay is not a terrorist.”
This was the defiant declaration of Lean Porquia following the arrest of his mother, Josephine, also known to authorities as Dhaday/Gie, during a coordinated operation on April 2 involving the Pavia, Iloilo Municipal Police Station Tracker Team, the Provincial Intelligence Unit of the Iloilo Provincial Police Office, the 62nd Special Action Company of the 6th Special Action Battalion of the Philippine National Police – Special Action Force (PNP-SAF), the 301st Brigade of the Philippine Army, and the Passi City Police Station.
Authorities said Josephine Porquia, a resident of Barangay Quintin Salas, Jaro district, Iloilo City, was arrested by virtue of a warrant of arrest for rebellion issued on June 28, 2012 by the Regional Trial Court Branch 21 in Mambusao, Capiz, with bail recommended at P40,000.
Police further claimed that during the operation, she was found in possession of materials used for improvised explosive devices (IEDs), resulting in an additional charge for violation of Republic Act 9516.
Also arrested was Ma. Luisa Tagamolila Guillen, alias “Luing,” who is facing obstruction of justice charges after allegedly interfering with the police operation.
But Lean Porquia disputed the legitimacy of the arrest, insisting that his mother’s name did not appear in the 2012 rebellion case cited by authorities.
“The arrest was made from a warrant in 2012 that listed a dozen of people and some John/Jane Does. Her name was not included. But to complete the step-by-step arrest against activists like Nanay, they have to plant illegal explosives (bomba) to make it non-bailable,” he said.
Lean further alleged that the operation was intended to silence his mother.
“They want her locked up, silenced, and persecuted,” he said, adding that the family was only relieved that “they kept her alive unlike what the berdugos did kay Tatay (Jory Porquia); they murdered him.”
Jose Reynaldo “Jory” Porquia was a former coordinator for the cause-oriented group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan in Panay Island. He was killed in 2020 during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lean described the charges against his mother as fabricated.
“Nanay is facing trumped up charges, a rebellion case in 2012 (her name is not included) and an illegal possession of explosives (non bailable) to make the arrest credible. The same formula that the military and police have been doing since Martial Law,” he said.
Lean emphasized that his mother has long been involved in activism, particularly in organizing marginalized sectors.
“Nanay has been an activist since the latter part of the Marcos Sr. dictatorship but she’s not the rah-rah activist. She’s quiet,” he said, noting that her work focused on organizing communities in a “calculated way.”
According to Lean, his mother’s life work centered on helping the poor, including serving as the first regional coordinator of Migrante in Panay Island, organizing peasant and urban poor communities, and supporting labor unions.
“This makes a whole lot sense why a government like that of Marcos Jr. is no different from any past governments. It wants to silence and lock up Nanay. She’s building a community where people learn about their rights, how to fight for land reform, a just and living wage, how the current economic crises are affecting each and every one of us,” he said.
Lean added: “My Nanay is not a terrorist, as what the police and military allege. We are not terrorists. They filed fake complaints against Nanay because she was helping the poor. They killed Tatay because he was helping the poor. If helping the poor is terrorism, then I guess heaven must be full of terrorists, including Jesus Christ.”
Lean Porquia has called on authorities to release his mother, insisting that the arrest was unlawful./PN