AFP Spokesman Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc. Screen grab from News5
Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc, Public Affairs Office (PAO) chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), on Tuesday lambasted the allegation of an arrested communist leader that the military and police were only after a cash reward that the government allotted for his arrest.
"Let's set the record straight. There is no cash reward for the arrest of Adelberto Silva, who replaced the detained Wilma Tiamzon as acting secretary general of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army-National Democratic Front," Cabunoc retorted.
Cabunoc said the same also applied in the case of NPA commander Ruben Saluta, alias Hugo, who was arrested in March together with fellow commander Emmanuel Bacarra at their safe house in Caloocan City.
Silva, on the other hand, was arrested at his safe house on June 1 in Bacoor, Cavite.
Also arrested was his wife, Rosanna Cabusao, former officer of the progressive Gabriela partylist and currently working as consultant of the Crispin B. Beltran Resource Center, and their driver identified as Isidro de Lima.
Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay claimed that Silva is an NDF peace consultant and holder of the Joint Agreement on Security and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG).
Cabunoc reiterated, though, that Silva and Saluta, just like many other communist leaders who fell into the hands of the government security forces, were not associated with cash rewards offered by the government.
"They have standing warrants of arrest because of their crimes against the people," he said.
Cabunoc also lambasted Silva and Palabay for using the cash reward system of the AFP as "black propaganda just to impress the public that some military and police officials are taking advantage of the reward system.
"More CPP-NPA-NDF leaders will be arrested one by one," Cabunoc said.
According to Palabay, Silva is just one among 16 arrested NDF peace consultants and who remained detained as the government continues to violate the JASIG.
She added that there are 527 political prisoners languishing in jail.
Palabay has regarded the AFP-PNP reward systems as an "organized racket" of some unscrupulous officers.
She cited the case of security guard Rolly Panesa, who was arrested in October 2012 and tortured into admitting that he was the communist leader "Benjamin Mendoza".
The Court of Appeals later ruled Panesa's case was a "mistaken identity" and ordered the police to release him from jail in September 2013.
Months before then AFP chief retired Gen. Emmanuel Bautista retired from service, he personally handed the P5.6 million cash reward to a hooded informer who led the military in the arrest of Panesa.
Until now, the military has stood pat on its position that Panesa is the same person as Benjamin Mendoza despite the court ruling.
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/112946/afp-no-monetary-reward-for-arrest-of-silva
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