TACLOBAN CITY– Days after filing a complaint with the Commission on Human Rights against the policemen who visited his house, youth activist and Kabataan Partylist Tacloban member Axell Bergula was again visited by two policemen who entered the school premises of Leyte Normal University (LNU) last December 15, 2025.
Last December 10, Bergula went to the CHR Regional Office VIII and filed a complaint against a police officer who visited his house last December 2, two days after the “Baha sa Tacloban” protest on November 30.
“There were two uniformed police officers who came looking for me at school. There was no notice whatsoever neither from the university administration nor from the campus security,” said Bergula.
Bergula recounted that he was called to the faculty room: the two officers, along with some faculty members were present, where he was questioned about the CHR case he filed against a PNP personnel.
“I explained that I considered the incident a form of harassment because the police showed up at my house late at night and I was even warned that I was allegedly included in a military “hot list” and dissuaded me from joining rallies lest I’ll be abducted “should higher ups” mandate it,” Bergula said.
Bergula shared that during the interaction, the police officers denied that they sent the personnel who visited their house claiming that “he is not in their system”.
On a separate occasion, last December 17, Bergula’s residence was again visited by the same PNP personnel who went to their house last December 2.
In an interview, Bergula’s mother, Maria Crestina Decina, said that the police officer brought up an affidavit that she refused to sign.
“He kept pressuring me to sign the affidavit and even said that Axell should not be involved since it is just an affidavit attesting that his first visit on December 2 was only “to warn” my son about the risks of attending rallies,” Maria said.
Maria shared that when the man left their house after her refusal to sign the document, he called her twice reminding her about the affidavit. The second time, she said, the same man called and another person took over the phone–identifying herself as a police officer– who also pressured her into signing the document.
Kabataan Partylist Tacloban, in a statement, condemned the PNP for allowing its two uniformed officers to enter the LNU campus to question Axell especially during class hours.
“There was no legal reason nor any document that the PNP presented when they entered the school premises and they definitely do not have the right to question and ask statements from Axell without a legal counsel,” KPL Tacloban wrote.
KPL also stressed that these forms of harassment only sow fear not only among youth activists but also among their families who also fell victim to the same patterns of intimidation.
“The PNP has claimed that the visit to Axell’s house is merely to remind him to be a responsible student and citizen of the community. If they are so sincere about reminding the youth about being responsible to the community, why are they only targeting youth activists who are participating in mobilizations and rallies?” KPL highlighted on their statement.
Rights group Katungod Sinirangan Bisayas said in an interview that this pattern of harassment exposes the PNP’s schemes to go after youth activists, especially those who are actively participating in rallies and mobilization aimed to voice out grievances against government corruption and would go as far as intimidating their families.
“The PNP is now washing its hands and pointing fingers at each other over who supposedly ordered and allowed this harassment. This only exposes the PNP’s systematic profiling of individuals who join legitimate organizations and participate in protests—an outright violation of civil and political rights, and a dangerous attack on democratic space,” Katungod SB said (RVO)
The post Youth activist, family harassed anew after filing CHR case vs cops appeared first on Bulatlat.
From Bulatlat via This RSS Feed.