By By Juliane Judilla
After nearly six years in detention, poet and peasant activist Amanda Socorro Echanis was acquitted of illegal possession of firearms and explosives by Branch 10 of the Regional Trial Court in Tuguegarao City on Wednesday, January 14.
In a decision penned by Judge Racquel Reyes-Aglaua, the court ruled that the prosecution failed to establish the essential elements of the charges against Echanis.
“Hence, the court cannot convict the accused. Mere speculation and probabilities cannot substitute for the quantum of proof required in criminal cases—proof beyond reasonable doubt—and the evidence presented did not overturn the accused’s constitutional presumption of innocence,” the ruling stated.
Echanis was arrested on December 2, 2020, in Barangay Carupian, Baggao, Cagayan, together with her then one-month-old baby, by elements of the Philippine National Police, the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, and the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
At the time of her arrest, Echanis was a woman peasant organizer of Amihan, a federation of women peasants, and a poet and writer known for documenting the lived realities and struggles of farmers in rural communities.
During her five-year detention, Echanis continued her political and cultural work. She re-enrolled as a Creative Writing student at the University of the Philippines–Diliman, attending classes online, and later ran in the University Student Council elections, winning a seat. She became the first political detainee in the history of the university to be elected as a councilor.
Progressive and peasant groups welcomed the acquittal as a product of sustained collective action. Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) said the ruling exposed the weakness of what it described as fabricated cases filed against organizers.
“This victory proves that the state’s lies cannot last forever,” said KMP chairperson Danilo Ramos.
“Matagal nang malinaw na inosente si Amanda. Ang kanyang pagkakulong ay patunay ng malupit na paggamit ng gawa-gawang kaso laban sa mga nag-oorganisa ng mga magsasaka at kababaihan. Ang kanyang paglaya ay tagumpay ng sama-samang pakikibaka,” Ramos said.
KMP stressed that Echanis’ acquittal comes amid what it described as an increasingly repressive political environment, where activists, peasant organizers, and human rights defenders continue to face fabricated charges. The group pointed to the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) as central to counterinsurgency efforts that, it said, rely on red-tagging, surveillance, and arrests rather than addressing landlessness, rural poverty, and hunger.
While welcoming Echanis’ freedom, KMP emphasized that justice remains incomplete without accountability.
“Ang pagpapawalang-sala kay Amanda ay isang tagumpay na bunga ng matagal at matinding pakikibaka,” Ramos said.
“Ngunit hangga’t patuloy ang pag-atake sa mga magsasaka, dinudukot ang mga aktibista, at umiiral ang mga gawa-gawang kaso, magpapatuloy ang pakikibaka. Makakamit lamang ang tunay na kapayapaan sa pamamagitan ng paggalang sa karapatan, pagwawakas sa impunidad, at pagtugon sa ugat ng kahirapan sa kanayunan sa pamamagitan ng tunay na reporma sa lupa,” He added.
The University of the Philippines–Diliman University Student Council also welcomed Echanis’ release, crediting it to mass support and collective struggle.
“Ang pagpapalaya kay Amanda Echanis ay tagumpay ng sama-samang pagkilos at isang mahalagang hakbang sa pagtatanggol sa kalayaang pang-akademiko at sa pagsusulong ng tunay na katarungan sa lipunan,” the council said in a statement.
Echanis is the daughter of slain National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) peace consultant Randall Echanis and veteran activist Linda Lacaba-Echanis.
