A consultant of the negotiating panel of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) jailed by the military walked out a free man Tuesday after a court dismissed a rebellion case filed by the military and police.
“As of 4:48pm today, February 4, NDFP peace consultant Ramon Patriarca was released from prison, after rebellion charges against him were dismissed before the Regional Trial Court in Danao City, Cebu,” according to an advisory by Cristina Palabay, secretary general of the human rights group Karapatan.
Patriarca’s release brings down to 12 the number of jailed NDFP consultants.
A report of the NDFP-- negotiating arm of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA)--released last year by chief negotiator Luis Jalandoni showed a total of 430 political prisoners still languishing in government detention facilities across the country.
“Patriarca's release should strengthen the call for the immediate release of all political prisoners who are incarcerated because of fabricated charges against them,” Palabay said.
Utrecht-based CPP founder Jose Maria Sison recently served notice they had shut the door to peace with the Aquino government and opted to wait for the next administration for the possibility of opening again peace negotiations.
The CPP-NPD-NDF had been waging over four decades a protracted Maoist-guerrilla war for a bloody overthrow of the government.
According to Jalandoni, the continuous detention of their consultants and the 430 political prisoners is a violation of the GRP-NDFP Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees and the GRP-NDFP Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL).
He named 12 consultants still under detention as Alan Jazmines, Leopoldo Caloza, Emeterio Antalan, Eduardo Serrano, Tirso Alcantara, Edgardo Friginal, Jaime Soledad, Eduardo Sarmiento, Alfredo Mapano, Pedro Codaste, Renante Gamara and Loida Tuzo Magpatoc.
Jalandoni noted that Magpatoc, arrested on July 28, was holding proper documents during the time of her arrest. “She is a holder of NDFP Document of Identification No. ND978254 using the assumed name Puri Feleo,” he said. Her detention at the Camp Bagong Diwa (female dorm) in Taguig City, Jalandoni said, is “a gross violation” of the (Joint Agreement on Security and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG).
“We likewise demand the release of all the 430 political prisoners in compliance with the GRP-NDFP Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL). A government that does not respect agreements and contracts it has entered into does not deserve trust and respect,” Jalandoni said.
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/80088/jailed-ndfp-consultant-freed-after-court-junks-rebellion-case-vs-him
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