The arrest on Monday of a former Philippine Air Force general accused of encouraging the military to abandon President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. rekindled concerns of the persecution of dissenters.

Romeo Poquiz, who had publicly called for the armed forces to “withdraw their support” from Marcos amid a burgeoning corruption scandal, was arrested by the Philippine National Police at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on his return from a holiday in Thailand, Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla said.

The arrest of Poquiz, the United People’s Initiative (UPI) convenor, reignited the debate over the use of rebellion and sedition charges against critics of the administration.

Poquiz was served an arrest warrant at NAIA Terminal 3 upon his arrival from Bangkok at 8 a.m., according to his lawyer, Ferdinand Topacio.

Topacio said the arrest stemmed from the cases of rebellion and sedition in connection with Poquiz’s public statements and criticism of the administration. The police documents indicated the warrant was related to a sedition case.

Bail set

Radio reports said the arrest followed Poquiz’s participation in a protest rally on 16 and 17 November at the People Power Monument in Quezon City.

A copy of the arrest warrant shared by Topacio indicated the bail for the sedition charge was set at P48,000.

Following his arrest, Poquiz was expected to be brought to Camp Crame for processing, before being presented to the Quezon City Regional Trial Court, Branch 77, for the posting of bail.

At the People Power Monument rally, Poquiz’s group reportedly called on active-duty soldiers and police officers to withdraw support from the administration, remarks that investigators said crossed the line from protest to sedition.

Topacio denounced the arrest, claiming the authorities violated his client’s rights. “Totally atrocious. We were barred from conferring with our client. That’s outrageously shameless,” he said, accusing the police of heavy-handed tactics.

Poquiz, who led a coalition of ex-soldiers and civilian groups in an earlier march to Camp Aguinaldo, had demanded a meeting with Brawner ahead of the 21 September anti-corruption protests.

AFP chief-of-staff Gen. Romeo Brawner confirmed meeting with Poquiz and other retired officers who raised concerns about alleged corruption in the Marcos administration.

At the time, Brawner took note of their discussion but emphasized the military’s commitment to the constitutional order.

Poquiz confirmed his arrest in a Facebook post.

“I was arrested by the (PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group) at the airport terminal. Long live the Filipino!” he said.