From ABS-CBN (Dec 7): Freeze on MILF man's bank accounts lapses
The freeze order on the bank accounts of a member of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Central Committee suspected of financing the activities in the Philippines of the al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah has lapsed, according to the Court of Appeals (CA). In a resolution by the Former 1st Division penned by Associate Justice Mariflor Punzalan-Castillo, the appellate court said the 6-month freeze order should no longer be in effect. "Considering that six months have already elapsed since the expiration of the original 20-day period on January 9, 2012, the extended freeze order should be deemed to have automatically expired on July 9, 2012," the resolution read.
Eduard Guerra, his wife Jocelyn, and Joseph Allan Jungoy Chan, Al Nissah General Merchant, Beauty Rich Trading, Sharif Interior and EJ & P Builders were covered by the six-month freeze order. The 6-month freeze order was an extension of the 20-day freeze order issued by the appellate court on Dec. 20, 2011 in favor of the Anti-money Laundering Council (AMLC). The freeze order covered bank accounts in Maybank, Metrobank, Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation, Banco de Oro, Bank of the Philippine Islands and Land Bank of the Philippines. Guerra was arrested in September 2010 over terrorism charges. He intended to leave for Geneva, Switzerland then via the Davao International Airport for a United Nations Human Rights Council meeting.
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/12/07/12/freeze-milf-mans-bank-accounts-lapses
The following is a Mindanao Examiner article covering the arrest of Eduard Guerra back in 2010:
ReplyDeletePhilippines arrests senior MILF leader ahead of peace talks
MAGUINDANAO, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Oct. 11, 2010) – Philippine authorities are holding a senior leader of Moro Islamic Liberation Front and accused him of terrorism ahead of peace talks between Manila and the Muslim rebel group fighting for separatism in the troubled region on Mindanao.
The MILF said it was protesting the arrest of Eduard Guerra and it also wrote Malaysia, which is brokering the peace talks, to say that the man had been tortured into admitting false charges of terrorism.
“We have filed a protest with the Philippine government and informed Malaysia about the arrest of Brother Eduard Guerra. He is a senior official of the MILF Central Committee and all the charges against him were false,” said Von Al Haq, a spokesman for the rebel group.
He said Guerra was arrested late last month at the Davao International Airport on his way to Switzerland to attend the United Nations Human Rights Council Meeting upon the invitation of an international nongovernment organization.
The MILF demanded the immediate release of Guerra who is being held at a military base in Manila. “Brother Eduard is has been tortured and is not allowed to see his lawyers or family members,” Al Haq said.
He said the MILF also passed a resolution condemning Guerra’s arrest. It was signed by Muhammad Ameen, chairman of the MILF Central Committee, and Ghazali Jaafar, MILF Vice Chairman for Political Affairs.
The resolution considers the arrest as a “direct blow to the early resumption of the negotiation in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia” and described it as a blatant violation of the truce accord between Manila and the MILF.
Murad Ebrahim, the MILF chieftain, sent a letter to the Malaysian peace talks facilitator, Datuk Othman bin Abdulrazak, and raised the issue of the arrest and its serious implications to the early resumption of the peace negotiations.
Authorities accused Guerra as behind the series of bombings in Sarangani province and General Santos City in Mindanao.
There was no immediate statement from the police or military about the MILF accusations. Manila has opened peace talks with the MILF in an effort to end bloody fighting in the southern Philippines.
http://zamboangajournal.blogspot.com/2010/10/philippines-arrests-senior-milf-leader.html