Since the arrest was unlawful, the court held that the search conducted afterward was likewise unconstitutional.
CABUYAO CITY, Laguna — For more than a year, Pauline Joy “Poleng” Banjawan was separated from her young child after her arrest by state forces in Sto. Tomas, Batangas. On July 6, 2026, a local court ruled that the evidence used to prosecute the labor and urban poor organizer had been obtained through unconstitutional warrantless arrest and illegal search, lending judicial weight to what she and rights advocates have long asserted — that she was unlawfully arrested and framed with fabricated charges.
The Municipal Trial Court in Cities (MTCC) of Sto. Tomas acquitted Banjawan of four counts of falsification of public documents after finding that authorities failed to establish the legality of her arrest before searching her belongings and seizing the documents presented as evidence.
In its 19-page decision, Judge Jasmin Panganiban-Rocafort categorically ruled, “This court is convinced that there was no valid flagrante delicto arrest.”
Flagrante delicto is a Latin term for “in the very act of committing a misdeed.” The court noted that the arresting officers themselves admitted Banjawan was not committing any offense when they found her.
“…When the police officers found her, she was lying on the ground. The arresting officers even admitted that she was not committing any crime when they discovered her,” the ruling stated.
The judge also pointed to inconsistencies in the prosecution’s account over the alleged firearm supposedly recovered during the operation, weakening the government’s justification for the warrantless arrest.
Since the arrest was unlawful, the court held that the search conducted afterward was likewise unconstitutional.
Invoking the Constitution’s protection against unreasonable searches and seizures, the court ruled, “If the process of gathering evidence against the accused is tainted by a violation of the accused’s right against unreasonable searches and seizures, which is a most cherished and protected right under the Bill of Rights, the evidence procured must be excluded, inevitably leading to the accused’s acquittal.”
The Bureau of Internal Revenues identification cards and PhilHealth identification card allegedly recovered from Banjawan were therefore declared inadmissible.
Without the seized documents, the prosecution failed to prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt, prompting the court to acquit Banjawan of all four counts of falsification of public documents.
A mother separated from her child
For Banjawan’s mother, Rowena, the decision is both a legal and deeply personal victory.
“This is proof that the law can side with victims of fabricated cases, like my daughter. I hope she can finally be freed so she can see her child, whom she has not seen for more than a year,” Rowena said in Filipino in a video statement.
She added that the ruling proves that “no one can ultimately twist the truth and justice.”
Banjawan was arrested on April 26, 2025, just months after giving birth. According to her testimony before the court, armed men chased her before blindfolding and taking her to undisclosed locations, where she was interrogated without legal counsel for nearly three days before she was surfaced and formally charged.
She testified that soldiers threatened to harm her mother, siblings, and infant if she refused to cooperate. She also recounted being shown a photograph of her baby while under interrogation and later being photographed beside firearms, explosives, and identification cards that she maintains were planted.
Although the court did not rule on the allegations of torture and evidence planting, its finding that the arrest and search violated constitutional safeguards significantly undercut the prosecution’s case.
Freedom remains elusive
Despite her acquittal, Banjawan remains detained over a separate charge of illegal possession of firearms and explosives, a case that her lawyers and supporters likewise describe as fabricated.
Rights advocates also said Banjawan continues to face harassment inside detention. According to her family, personnel linked to the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) have repeatedly visited and interrogated her in jail. They also alleged that she has recently been deprived of visitation and telephone privileges for three months, preventing her from communicating with her family and baby.
An organizer of workers and urban poor communities, Banjawan has spent years campaigning for housing rights, social services, secure livelihoods, and living wages.
Her acquittal, supporters said, marks an important legal victory but not the end of her ordeal.
For them, the court’s decision does more than dismiss four criminal charges. It affirms that constitutional rights were violated in Banjawan’s arrest while reinforcing calls for the dismissal of her remaining case and for her eventual reunion with the baby who has spent more than a year growing up without his mother. (RTS, RVO)
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