Nineteen people, including some media workers, jailed following a violent NutriAsia dispersal were released Wednesday after prosecutors issued their release orders, police said.
But Bulacan police chief Sr. Supt. Chito Bersaluna said one other suspect he did not identify would remain in detention.
“All of the 19 are covered by release orders, but there was one other person caught carrying a gun,” Bersaluna told Rappler.
Bersaluna said the release orders were secured after the group underwent preliminary investigation. But while they have been released, police said the 19 still faced complaints.
Replying to questions, Bersaluna said police detained the 20 for physical injury, alarm, and scandal, and illegal assembly allegedly committed during the protest outside the NutriAsia factory in Bulacan.
Philippine National Police chief Director General Oscar Albayalde told reporters on Wednesday that the protesters were not detained for hurting police.
But Bersaluna said the protesters allegedly hurt the guards of the industrial compound where the factory stands.
Protesters denied the police’s accusations, saying their assembly was a peaceful demonstration against NutriAsia’s labor policy.