Republic of the Philippines)

City of Cagayan de Oro) S.S.

AFFIDAVIT

I, Wynlove P. Lastimosa, of legal age, live-in partner of Alfredo F. Debalucos,

Filipino and currently residing at Citihomes, Malanang, Opol, Misamis Oriental
Philippines 9000, after having been duly sworn to in accordance with law, do hereby
depose and say:

1. That I am a victim of the government officers who willfully, unlawfully and

maliciously performed their duties by illegally conducting the buy-bust operations in the
Bulua public market last January 26, 2023;

2. That January 26,2023 became a traumatic and unforgettable day that

happened in my life because at around 3 o’clock in in the afternoon, more or less, I was
sitting at my desk waiting for customers to buy my veggies that I was selling like red
pepper, tomatoes, squash, and onions; when suddenly, a guy entered in my stall, asked
the price of onions which I replied and gave the price of 1,700Php per bag. He walked
out and said “I will be right back” and then a few minutes passed by, he was coming
back saying that he would like to buy one bag of onions and gave me 2,000Php at
which I handed out the change of 300Php but then he said “MAM DO NOT GO OUT”,
you are under arrest;

3. That I sat on my desk, asked what was happening, but no one answered me
and in a span of seconds, many police personnel came in, looked for and checked the
onions I was selling;

4. That they examined and counted my onions and then I went out while they
were busy inspecting my onions;

5. That I was I just roaming around my stall since I was so confident that there
was nothing irregular or illegal that I did, and since I had a lot of veggies to tend;

6. That no one among them explained to me what was really happening but I
overheard from their talk that the onions I was selling, were smuggled;

7. That one of the police personnel told me that they are PNP-CIDG and asked
for my identification at which I gave my drivers license to him;

8. That after that some personnel coming from different agencies such as Bureau
of Customs (BOC), Department of Agriculture (DA), Bureau of Plants and Industry
(BPI), and Barangay Captain arrived and took part at what the police were doing by
signing the seizure papers;
9. That after the signing, they got all my onions and put them on their vehicles,
without explaining to me what was happening. Because their vehicle were overloaded,
we even helped them by loading the onions onto our vehicles without hesitation;

10. That I thought they will only confiscate the onions because they did not tell
me that they are going to bring me also to the CIDG office to be detained;

11. That I only knew that I would be brought to the office and be detained by
the police when the one PNP CIDG PERSONNEL, namely, P/MAJ GOMERA, the team
leader of the PNP-CIDG MISAMIS ORIENTAL, informed me that they are going to bring
me to their office without even telling me of my violation or even apprising me of the
nature of my infraction, if any;

12. That I asked my husband to get our car and to go to the supposed office of
the CIDG since I knew in my mind that I did not commit any crimes or violations
against the law;

13. That I was neither recited with the “Miranda doctrine” as I usually heard
done to every criminal at the time of the so-called buy bust operations;

14. That I kept on saying that I’m just a retailer who was selling veggies at my
stall in Westbound, Bulua, Public Martket and explained to them, presented all the
documents or all government papers as my proofs that we are legit businesspersons
selling vegetables;

15. That when the said PNP-CIDG enforcer invited me to come to their office, all
I had in mind due to lack of concrete appraisal of what was happening that they are
just giving me invitation to ask me about my onions at which I signified willingness to
cooperate in whatever investigation since all the while I knew that there was nothing
illegal with our onions considering that we bought them as they were offered to us;

16. That when we arrived around 5:00 o’clock in afternoon at the PNP-CIDG
office, I was very shocked because they did not allow me to go out from their office
prompting me to just threw even my napkins at their trash bin. In fact, one of the PNP
CIDG personnel was the one who threw my napkins on my behalf outside the office
after the trash bin inside was already full since I was not allowed to go outside
anymore;

17. That at the time that I was not permitted to go out from their office, I
realized that I became a detainee since I was deprived of my liberty;
 18. That I questioned the PNP-CIDG team leader, P/MAJ GOMERA, saying “Sir
why did you deprive my liberty”? Did I commit any violations”? And P/MAJ GOMERA
replied, “yes, you have violations but the Bureau of Plants and Industry (BPI) and
Department of agriculture (DA) only can determine and the one that will give you
verdict after the inquest proceedings since they are the ones who ordered to conduct
this operation”.

19. That P/MAJ GOMERA also stressed that the Bureau of Plants and Industry
(BPI) will inform me about the nature of my case after the result of their examinations
of the onions, and so I sat down, shocked and thought of myself, my family, my honor,
my reputation, my legitimate business, my kids since I cannot go home;

20. That the deprivation of liberty was so traumatic that I was not able to
contain myself but cry and became hysterical;

21. That I felt I experienced the worst when the PNP-CIDG forced me to wear
the orange CIDG detainee t-shirt;

22. That the CIDG personnel also forced me to hold me a placard with writings
of my complete name, date, with my alleged violations and then took a mug shot
pictures of me;

23. That I asked again the CIDG Officer on why I was forced to undergo the
things that the usual criminals do, despite the fact that I still don’t have a case? The
CIDG Officer who made the report answered me that it was a protocol to take the
mugshot for record purposes, but despite this wrong procedure I still obeyed because
of the overwhelming compulsion saying that “BANTAY BITAW SIR HA, RECORD
PURPOSE MAN KAHA BISAN WALA KOY KASO OG WALA KO KRIMEN NGA GIHIMO.
BASIN MA POST NI SA FACEBOOK O MA NEWS KO ANE NGA NAKA SUL-OB MURA KO
ANEG CRIMINAL” (Be cautious sir, it is only for record purpose okay, because I don’t
have a case neither do I commit a crime. I hope it will not be posted on Facebook or
made as a news wearing this t-shirt as if I am a criminal);

24. That the PNP-CIDG officer made a promise by saying “MAM PWEDE NIMU
MAKASUHAN KUNG KINSA ANG MAG POST KY CONFIDENTIAL NI” (Ma’am, you can file
a case against someone who would post this because it is confidential) and I believed
them at first even though I knew that they already violated my rights as a human out of
compulsion because they are law enforcers;

25. That when my live-in partner called our lawyer-friend and asked him for help
to stand as my custodian so that I can go home just for a night for our little children
who were already waiting for us, unable to sleep since we did not arrive in time;
 26. That even our lawyer-friend who wanted and assured them to be my
custodian did not persuade them. No matter how hardly he explained and persuaded
the officer that he will undertake to have custody just for that night and that he was
willing to sign for whatever conditions or even disbar him from his profession if he fails
to bring me again to the Office of the CIDG, even at the earliest time in the morning
and as favor to the children, but still the PNP-CIDG did not permit my temporary
release or freedom;

27. That since there was nothing we can do except to accept the fact that Ihad
become a detainee, my husband joined me in my detention on January 26,2023 at the
office of the PNP-CIDG;

28. That on January 27,2023 in the morning, at the CIDG office I heard that the
CIDG personnel talked about inquest proceedings while I waiting to be brought to the
Office of the Prosecutors;

29. That I kept on asking myself on why there has to be an inquest proceeding,
since I did nothing and I did not commit any violations against the law;

30. That at 10:00 o’clock in the morning more or less of the same date, together
with the CIDG officers, I was brought to the Office of the Prosecutors;

31. That as I sat outside the office, some escort CIDG personnel went inside the
prosecutors’ office to subscribe to the supposed case filed against me;

32. That when they came out, they said that we were going to the office of the
Bureau of Plants and Industry because the prosecutor did not sign or even made a
resolution after reading the facts of their allegations;

33. That according to one CIDG officer, the prosecutor gave instructions to bring
the case to the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) for any violations they can see because
the prosecutor did not see any violation since I presented my business permit as my
only proof that I complied with all the requirements and no law that prohibits the selling
of onions;

34. That when we arrived at the office of the Bureau of Plant Industry, the
bureau officer gave me some points where he cited some violations that do not apply to
me since I am not an importer or large-scale dealer of onions. He mentioned them but
they are all not part of my occupation as I am just selling of onions and did not violate
any law as a legit entrepreneur;
35. That I insisted that I am not an importer showing my permit and other
papers and asked again the BPI officer saying “SIR WHAT IS MY CASE SINCE NOW
YOU KNOW THAT I AM A RETAILER, AND I AM NOT A SMUGGLER, AND I ALSO
PRESENTED TO YOU ALL THE DOCUMENTS THAT I HAVE to certify that our business is
only buy and sell, SO NOW SIR I ASKED YOU WHAT IS MY CASE?;
36. That the BPI officer cannot answer my query as to the nature of my case,
but he said our case will be reported to MANILA and he just waited for the verdict from
the HEAD OFFICE;
37. That after that, the PNP CIDG issued a piece of paper as a certification with a
title “ RELEASED FROM CUSTODY” indicating all government agencies that took part
of the operations signed in the office of the Bureau of Plants and Industry Office, of the
same date of January 27, 2023;
38. That after the release, I went to church to thank God for protecting me from
people who would want to destroy me, and from everything then after I went home to
see my children and rest from the very traumatic experience of my life;
39. That while I was resting, my siblings, cousins, uncles and aunties, friends in
Cagayan de Oro and from other places kept calling me and some of them were crying
because they saw the news report in the national Television;
40. That I felt so embarrassed, maligned, ridiculed, trampled, broke into pieces
as I myself watched the alleged news report and postings of GMA Network Inc.;
41. That through the news report, without my knowledge, I learned that the
CIDG team leader, P/MAJ GOMERA, was interviewed by one “JAMES PAULO YAP”, a
GMA Network Inc., reporter, for One Mindanao newscast on January 27, 2023;
42. That in the said news report, exclusively aired over GMA stations, my
mugshot was shown and my name was mentioned and I was labeled as smuggler, with
the alleged buybust-video that showed confiscated onions, even telling the viewers that
the confiscation was made at our warehouse;
43. That because of all these, I was so traumatized, shocked, destroyed, my
reputation besmirched, my honor trampled and felt so frustrated with overwhelming
feeling that these people ruined my dignity;
44. That since then, I experienced sleepless nights, I felt anxiety attacks, lost
appetite, was sick of fever for 2 weeks which intermittently come until present and my
mental health so disturbed, and lost enormously my business and business
opportunities since my regular customers and patrons as well as even walk-in
customers would avoid our stall;
45. That no amount of measurement can gauge the gravity of the impact of the
trampling of my rights as it went beyond my personal capacity to withstand as even my
children felt so traumatized. They even will not even allow me to go outside because
they are afraid that their mother cannot go home again. Every day, my children
alternately keep on asking me “DIBA NAY DILI MAN KA BAD? DIBA NAY, AS YOU TOLD
ME ONLY THE BAD GUY WILL BE PUT INTO JAIL, AND THE POLICE IS PROTECTOR SA
PEOPLE? ARE YOU BAD NANAY? I HEARD SOME GOSSIP THAT NANAY WAS ARRESTED
BY THE POLICE, THEY SAID THAT NANAY IS IN JAIL? (Mommy, it is true that you are
not bad? Mommy, you told me only the bad guy will be put to jail, and the police is
protector of the people, right? Are you bad Nanay? I heard some gossip Nanay that you
were arrested by the police, they said Nanay is in jail?);
46. That I am executing this affidavit to attest to the truth of the foregoing
statements.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this ________day

__________at____________, Philippines.

________________
WYNLOVE P. LASTIMOSA
Affiant

SUBSCRIBE AND SWORN to before me this ___________at Cagayan de Oro, Philippines

by the affiant whom I personally examined and I am satisfied that he voluntarily
executed and understood this said affidavit.

ATTY._________________
______________________