‘Those forty days of incarceration demonstrated the resilience of the four and their loved ones.’
BY GAY ACE DOMINGO
When filmmaker Jade Castro and his three friends were arrested without a warrant and detained in Catanauan, Quezon, for what police authorities alleged as involvement in the burning of a mini bus, the ordeal was certainly tough on them.
At the time of the crime, the four were in Mulanay to attend a festival. Jade and company were sure they will be eventually released because of their innocence. This fact kept them hopeful and made the challenge more bearable. Jade reiterated in a press conference post-incarceration, “Inosente po kami. Alam naming mananaig ang katotohanan.”
Naturally, the people closest to the “Catanauan Four” (as the group was eventually dubbed) were also affected.
Jade’s parents Manny and Ruby, with Jade’s brother Jasper, dropped what they were doing to monitor the situation and help facilitate the speedy release of the four.
“Noong nangyari po ito, parang gumuho ang world namin. We are a small family… Noong malaman namin, hindi namin mapaniwalaan,” Ruby said in the same press conference.
“Parang akala namin makakalaya na sina Jade on the first day… on the third day… on the seventh day. Pero hindi. Hanggang we decided –Jade’s father and I – to stay in Catanauan,” she revealed.
A local hotel became the family’s “command center” from where they coordinated the legal needs while reaching out to family and friends or anyone whom they felt could be of help.
Visiting the Catanauan Four in jail was also a daily activity. Ruby made sure of that.
She related, “Noong nasa police station (naka-detain) sina Jade, walang restriction ang dalaw. We were there 14 hours, in and out. Noong nilipat na sila sa Catanauan jail, may restriction na. Weekdays, three days pwedeng dumalaw from 1 to 4 in the afternoon. On weekends, 9 to 11 a.m. and 1 to 4 p.m. ang schedule. Kapag Monday and Friday, walang dalaw.”
She also shared that the jail personnel found her constant presence somewhat unwelcome.
“Kulit na kulit na sila sa akin kasi sinasagad ko ‘yung 1 to 4 p.m. schedule. Hanggang mag-bell, nandoon ako. ‘Pag Mondays and Fridays, I try to find a way na makadalaw. Nagha-hi lang kami kay Jade,” an emotional Ruby recounted.
Since Jade and his friends Ernesto Orcine, Noel Mariano and Dominic Ramos were not allowed to bring mobile phones inside the cell (Jade quipped, “Huwag daw naming tawaging selda. Tawagin daw naming ‘dorm’.”), Ruby became their main link to the outside world. Whenever she would visit, she would bring food, news clippings and print-outs of articles and posts of support for the four.
“‘Yung tatlong kaibigan ni Jade, sina Ernesto, Noel and Dominic, para rin naming mga anak,” said Ruby. “Whenever we bring food or anything, para sa kanilang apat.”
When days turned into weeks and the weeks turned into a month, and the Catanauan Four still remained in jail, many people (including their families and the detained themselves) thought freedom would still be far away. “Mixed emotions sa loob,” said Jade. “But a lot of it was hope. Ang lakas ng paniniwala namin na makakalabas kami.”
Inside, the Catanauan Four met other individuals who were suffering the same predicament. “Regular (pala) ang illegal arrests,” said Jade. There were those who’d been detained for months; while others had been detained for years. There was, for instance, a young person who was jailed when he was a teenager and was now a young adult. “It’s a systemic thing,” Atty. Carmela Peña, one of the legal counsels of the Catanauan Four, said of the illegal arrests.
On the part of Jade’s parents, they met kind and generous Catanauan residents who were sympathetic to their family’s plight. The owner of the hotel where they stayed was very supportive. So was parish priest Rev. Fr. Richard Eleazar.
On March 11, 2024, Judge Franciz Galvez of Branch 96 of the Catanauan Regional Trial Court approved the motion to quash, which had been presented by the group’s legal representatives, Attorneys Michael Marpuri and Carmela Peña. After 40 days of detention, Jade, Dominic, Noel, and Ernesto were ultimately freed.
“Nagsisigaw kami! ‘We’re free!’” Noel recalled. “Sabi ko, tawagan agad si Mommy Ruby.
Siya ang mas masaya kapag nakalaya kami kasi siya ‘yung araw-araw nandoon dumadalaw.”
Those forty days of incarceration demonstrated the resilience of the four and their loved ones. In that span of time, the media and the entertainment industry — of which Jade is part of –also showed tremendous concern through continuous coverage and relentless social media posts defending Jade and company.
The best of humanity came to fore.
“Never namin inisip na trahedya ‘yung nangyari sa amin. Naniwala kaming may happy ending pa rin,” said Jade.
“Overwhelmed kami sa support ng friends, family, relatives. Hindi namin akalain na ganoon karami. Thank you po,” declared Ruby.
