Tribal groups' rep nabbed on his way to anti-pork congress, groups cry harassment

From InterAksyon (Aug 22): Tribal groups' rep nabbed on his way to anti-pork congress, groups cry harassment



Katribu party-list members behead chicken in front of Comelec to ensure clean 2013 polls in this file photo. The party-list's second nominee was arrested Friday in Surigao City as he prepared to attend a congress against pork barrel in Cebu. INTERAKSYON.COM FILE

A combined Army-police unit arrested in Surigao City Friday afternoon an official of a party-list for indigenous groups, on alleged frustrated murder cases, as he prepared to attend the People’s Congress to Abolish Pork through the People’s Initiative Bill in Cebu City.

The Congress is scheduled Saturday, August 23.

The human rights group Karapatan sent out an alert notice to media expressing concern over the fate of Genasque B. Enrique, a 41-year old father of 4 and Secretary General of Kasalo-Caraga and second nominee of KATRIBU Partylist.

Before his arrest, Enriquez had been repeatedly harassed by military units operating in Caraga, said Karapatan. "He has been among those in the forefront to demand the respect of human rights of the indigenous people (IP), expose human rights violations committed by operating troops of the AFP against the indigenous people and communities and protesting against the destruction of ancestral lands by large scale mining operations and plantations."

Officials and spokespersons of the AFP have "vilified" him on air during radio interviews and in face-to-face negotiations and dialogues, said Karapatan.

The alias warrant of arrest used as basis for his arrest was issued March 25, 2013 by the Regional Trial Court Branch 28 of Lianga, Surigao del Sur. Three counts of frustrated murder (Frustrated murder case no. L-2540) have been filed against him by the Philippine Army.

Enriquez was about to leave Dale’s Food House in Rizal St., Surigao City when members of the PNP-Surigao City, 30th IB PA and the CIDG arrested him.

He had just attended a press conference by the Abolish Pork Movement (APM) and representatives of people’s organizations in Caraga in the same restaurant. The group was scheduled to travel to Cebu City tonight to attend the People’s Congress to Abolish Pork through the People’s Initiative Bill on August 23.

The police-CIDG-military brought Enriquez to the CIDG detention center at the Surigao City Hall where he is currently detained.

According to Karapatan, Kasalo Caraga had been tagged by the military as a front of the CPP-NPA "because of its staunch support for grassroots IP organizations,its anti-largescale mining campaign and human rights work."

Enriquez himself "previously faced trumped up charges of murder and frustrated murder, associating him with known offensives of the NPA" But these were later dropped by the Office of the Prosecutor and Department of Justice, added Karapatan.

As with his experience in the previous case he faced, Enriquez did not receive any notice of complaints filed against him from the Surigao del Sur Prosecutor’s Office, thus depriving him of his right to respond to the complaint as per due process.  They failed to inform him of the current cases that were the basis of the alias warrant that was served to him during his arrest, according to the rights group.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/93810/tribal-groups-rep-nabbed-on-his-way-to-anti-pork-congress-groups-cry-harassment