By SHAN KENSHIN ECALDRE
CABUYAO, Laguna — What authorities described as a campaign to make cities “safer” is being challenged by lawyers and labor rights advocates as a sweeping crackdown that disproportionately targets the urban poor while raising serious legal and constitutional concerns.
The National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) condemned the apprehension of more than 80 residents in Quezon City under the so-called “Safer Cities” initiative of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) on April 8, 2026. Those rounded up were reportedly cited for minor violations such as curfew breaches, drinking in public, going shirtless, and causing nighttime noise, acts that, for many in informal communities, are intertwined with daily life.
“For all its labels, this was a punitive operation aimed at ordinary people,” the NUPL said, emphasizing that most of those apprehended came from poor communities.
Central to the criticism is the legality of the arrests.
The NUPL cited the Supreme Court ruling in Ridon v. People, which held that police cannot conduct warrantless arrests when the underlying violation does not authorize detention. Without a clear legal basis, the NUPL warned, such apprehensions risk violating constitutional protections against unlawful arrest and search.
The lawyers raised a fundamental question: if the alleged violations are punishable only by fines, why were individuals arrested or taken into custody?
The group also underscored that under the Local Government Code, local governments may enact penal ordinances, but these are limited in scope. In practice, many impose only fines, not imprisonment, further casting doubt on the legality of custodial arrests in the recent operations.
The NUPL challenged Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla, stressing that policy pronouncements cannot substitute for law.
“A Cabinet Secretary’s announcement is not a law,” the group said. “Only Congress, or local government units through valid ordinances, can define offenses and impose penalties.”
Children caught in the dragnet
The crackdown has also raised alarm over the treatment of minors. The NUPL pointed to the Supreme Court decision in SPARK v. Quezon City, which upheld curfew ordinances only if they are narrowly tailored and protective of children’s rights.
Under the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act, children cannot be fined or imprisoned for “status offenses” such as curfew violations. Instead, they must be provided community-based interventions.
“Minors must not be treated as offenders,” the group stressed.
Labor rights organization Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR) echoed the condemnation, framing the campaign as part of a broader pattern of repression amid worsening economic conditions.
According to CTUHR, prohibitions under the “Safer Cities Initiative”, including bans on street drinking, late-night gatherings, and even karaoke, disproportionately affect the urban poor, who often lack private spaces for recreation.
“Poor Filipinos are understandably becoming restive because of rising prices and joblessness,” said Kamz Deligente. “Instead of addressing these concerns, the government is power-tripping and repressing them.”
The group claimed that some 24,000 individuals were arrested nationwide in just the first two days of the initiative, underscoring what it described as the scale of enforcement.
The CTUHR also criticized the administration of Ferdinand Marcos Jr., saying the intensified police presence in public spaces, from transport hubs to schools, signals an approach that prioritizes control over addressing root economic issues.
Old patterns, new targets
Both NUPL and CTUHR drew parallels between the current campaign and previous policies that framed the urban poor as sources of criminality.
The labor group warned that such narratives risk justifying broader repression. “The government starts with populations it depicts as criminals,” Deligente said, “but soon moves into quelling legitimate dissent.”
For the NUPL, the implications go beyond policy missteps. “A city does not become safer by humiliating poor residents,” it said. “Public order cannot be enforced by stretching ordinances beyond their terms or treating poverty itself as suspicious.”
The NUPL demanded the immediate release of all individuals detained without lawful basis and called for a full public accounting of every apprehension made under the operation.
“If no valid basis for arrest existed,” the group said, “those responsible must be held accountable.”
Rights advocates insist that the solution lies not in mass apprehensions, but in addressing deepening inequality, before enforcement measures blur the line between maintaining order and suppressing the very communities most affected by economic hardship. (AMU, RVO)
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