NDF formally protests hike in bounty for rebel leaders

From InterAksyon (Nov 24): NDF formally protests hike in bounty for rebel leaders

The National Democratic Front said it has formally written the government peace panel condemning the increase in the bounties for the capture of 235 communist rebel leaders. The government recently announced the issuance of Joint Order No. 14-2012 by the Departments of National Defense and of Interior and Local Government raising to P466.88 million the rewards leading to the capture of the rebel officers..... In a statement, the NDF said Luis Jalandoni, chairman of its negotiating panel, wrote his government counterpart, Alex Padilla, informing him that Austria is covered by the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees, which protects both sides’ negotiators, consultants and other personnel involved in peace talks, from arrest and prosecution. “To list and target our consultants is an attack on the peace process,” Jalandoni said. “The NDFP wants to ensure that the JASIG is respected and not violated.” The peace talks between the communists and government has been stalled for the last few years over the NDF’s demand that jailed rebel leaders it claims are consultants in the talks be released. The NDF said Jalandoni also demanded that government make public the complete list of rebel leaders for whom the bounties were raised “if the purpose of the Joint Order is to seek the help of the public in giving information leading to the arrest of the listed persons.” “The NDFP wants to know those names and identities in the complete list because we want to ascertain whether a judicial warrant of arrest is the basis of the listing of every one or not, and whether or not there is arbitrariness or not,” Jalandoni added, claiming that “previous listings under various administrations have been characterized by a lack of prior judicial warrants of arrest and by arbitrariness.” He also worried that “the Aquino government can use the list as a death list for the use of death squads if it does not release all the listed names for public scrutiny.” “Keeping nearly all such names or most of the 235 names in secrecy and under the fog is a license for harassment, abductions and extrajudicial killings,” he said. The concern apparently stemmed from the DND’s involvement in the issuance of the Joint Order, which he described as “anomalous and ominous.”,“The police, not the military, are the peace officers in charge of arrests under the administration of the DILG and guidance of the Department of Justice,” Jalandoni pointed out.