THE Office of the Solicitor General has filed a manifestation before lower courts seeking the rearrest and cancellation of the bail petitions for consultants of the National Democratic Front as an Iloilo court reissued arrest warrants against NDF consultant Ma. Concepcion Araneta-Bocala for her non-attendance in bail proceedings.
Solicitor-General Jose Calida asked for the rearrest of 21 NDF consultants who were earlier granted conditional release by the lower courts to enable them to participate in the peace negotiations in Oslo.
“Considering that the peace negotiations in Oslo, Norway are terminated, the accused who were granted conditional release should be recommitted to the courts and their respective bonds should be automatically cancelled,” Calida said.
Among those ordered arrested were Benito and Wilma Tiamzon, chairman and secretary general respectively of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) along with 19 other consultants—Tirso Alcantara, Ariel Arbitrario, Renato Baleros Sr., Kennedy Bangibag, Alex Birondo, Winona Birondo, Maria Concepcion Araneta-Bocala, Pedro Codaste, Edgardo Fraginal, Reynante Gamara, Eduardo Genelsa, Alan Jasminez, Ernesto Lorenzo, Ma. Loida Magpatoc, Alfredo Mapano, Ruben Saluta, Jaime Servillano Soledad, Adelberto Silva, and Porferio Tuna.
President Rodrigo Duterte had earlier ordered the police and the military to rearrest the NDF consultants, following the collapse of peace talks early this month.
NDF legal consultant Rachel Pastores said the Iloilo regional trial court had already ordered Bocala’s arrest Monday after she failed to show up for a bail hearing.
Bocala, who faces charges of rebellion and murder before three local courts in Aklan, Iloilo and Antique, was released on bail in August last year to enable her to participate in the peace talks.
Another NDF consultant, Ariel Arbitrario was re-arrested in Toril, Davao City.
Pastores said that they already filed a manifestation to defer resolution of the OSG motion since there were still efforts to revive the talks between the Philippine government and the NDFP.
“I would say that the peace negotiations were moving forward based on the substantive agenda. Both parties were really cooperating in order to come up with agreements. Major agreements have already been forged,” the NDF legal counsel said.
“It should be stressed at the outset that while President Duterte verbally announced that he is terminating the peace negotiations, the said announcement was not accompanied by any formal written notice of termination as required in any formal negotiations between two parties. Hence, such verbal pronouncement may not be considered as being effective immediately,” she added.
Another NDF lawyer, Edre Olalia, said that the immunity guarantees enjoyed by the consultants were still effective, even after government considered the termination of the Joint Agreeement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees last week.
“The NDF rejected the termination letter by Secretary Dureza addressed to chief negotiator Fidel Agcaoili and chief political consultant Jose Maria Sison,” Olalia said. “Hence, their immunity guarantees remain.”
Also on Wednesday, Maj. Gen. Benjamin R. Madrigal, commanding general of the 4th Infantry Division, condemned the harassment of Army troopers and ABS-CBN Sagip Kapamilya staff members by New People’s Army rebels in San Francisco, Surigao del Norte on Tuesday.
“We condemn in the strongest terms possible the recent harassment of the NPA. There is no way we can really trust these terrorists. They have deceived the entire nation when they fired upon the team that is composed of Army and civilian volunteers who have just delivered relief goods to the earthquake-stricken communities,” Madrigal said.
“Their [NPA] recent declaration of ceasefire in that area is nothing but lie and deception,” he added.
Soldiers from 30th Infantry Battalion were assisting ABS-CBN Sagip Kapamilya Foundation in distributing relief goods when they were fired upon by suspected NPA rebels.
“While we are in the area helping our people to rise up again after they were badly hit by the recent earthquake, the NPA terrorists are also busy in making our people’s lives miserable,” Madrigal added.
Meanwhile, a group calling itself All-Out Peace urged the government and the communists to forsake all-out war and work instead toward “all-out peace.”
The group said they were speaking on behalf of the women, children, youth, peace workers, indigenous peoples, and spouses and relatives of soldiers, guerrillas and specially those innocent victims caught in the crossfire and the rest of the most vulnerable sectors in times of war. With Rio N. Araja and Sandy Araneta