The global indie film community continues to rally around Filipino filmmaker Jade Castro, who was arrested on 1 Feb with three friends for allegedly hijacking a jeep at gunpoint and setting the vehicle on fire.

A preliminary hearing is being held and “we’re all praying for a miracle,” the Free Jade Castro NOW Facebook page said yesterday.

As international organisations take up the call for Castro’s release, at home questions are being asked about the warrantless arrest and the police’s claim that the detention was lawful.

Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) chairperson, lawyer Chel Diokno, took to social media saying that “the warrantless arrest of film director Jade Castro and four others is unfounded” and that “based on [the info] we gathered, they have become victims of crooked law enforcement”. 

Meanwhile, the Philippines’ justice secretary, Jesus Crispin Remulla, has gone on record asking Quezon provincial prosecutors to resolve to ensure that “justice is dispensed with appropriately and expeditiously,” according to a Department of Justice statement. 
Asking “why is film director Jade Castro still in prison?”, local news site, Rappler, said details were emerging that cast doubt on police claims of a lawful apprehension. 

The four men, who were still in detention on Monday, have denied the charge and say they were nowhere in the area at the time. 

Families, friends and supporters have taken to social media, saying the four had no motive and that the police have found no evidence.

According to widely quoted witnesses, the men were at the Cocolunay festival in Mulanay/Quezon at the time of the 31 January jeep attack more than 20 kilometres away.

The 45-year-old Castro, along with friends Noel Mariano, Ernesto Orcine and Dominic Ramos, were taken into custody the following day. Local police then issued a public statement identifying the four as the arsonists. 

“This is unbelievable, to say the least,” a statement from the families of the four men said on 7 Feb as the detention continued into a second week. 

“That they were arrested without due process, their mugshots released to and run by media outlets, together with a press statement by the police declaring the case solved prior to any thorough and complete investigation is unjust, unlawful, and inhumane,” the families added, demanding a “transparent and fair investigation,” the families said.

Multiple film bodies have weighed in, including the Directors Guild of the Philippines and the Philippine Center of International PEN.
Local calls for Castro’s release, along with the fund-raising campaign, have spread globally.

On Thursday (8 Feb), as much of Asia prepared to shut down for the Lunar New Year holidays, the Netherlands-based International Coalition for Filmmakers at Risk (ICFR) issued an urgent call for Castro’s release. 

Members of the Asia-Pacific Film Institute called for support for the fund-raising campaign launched to cover legal costs.
The ICFR said it was “deeply worried” about Castro’s wellbeing, and called upon the Philippine authorities “to immediately and unconditionally release Jade Castro and his companions”. 

The ICFR statement was signed by the International Film Festival Rotterdam, the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, and the European Film Academy 

Castro made his directorial debut with 2007 romantic drama, Endo, and going on to direct romcom My Big Love, gay-themed zombie comedy "Remington and the Curse of the Zombadings", and comedies "My Kontrabida Girl" and "My Lady Boss". He also directed drama series, "Beki Boxer", in 2014. 

Philippines police and legal authorities have told local media outlets that the four men will have their day in court and an opportunity to present their case.