Military said ‘abducted’ rural worker is a ranking NPA

From Malaya (May 10): Military said ‘abducted’ rural worker is a ranking NPA
 
THE commander of the Army’s 4th Infantry Division in Mindanao yesterday denied claims by Karapatan that 60-year-old Estelita Tacalan, a community organizer and health worker, was abducted by government forces.

Brig. Gen. Ricardo Visaya criticized Karapatan for blaming him and the military.
“There is no truth to pronouncements that she was abducted and that I was the one who ordered the abduction…They (Karapatan) should not just make an accusation, they have to find out first (the circumstances), they can always ask the PNP,” he said.

Visaya said Tacalan alias “Elsa Rentong” and “Nanay Neneng,” is the second deputy secretary of the communist movement’s Western Mindanao Regional Party Committee.

“She was actually arrested (by) combined military and PNP forces,” said Visaya.

The 4th ID commander said Tacalan was apprehended in Cogon, Cagayan de Oro City by virtue of arrest warrants for murder, frustrated murder and arson.

Karapatan officials said Tacalan, a widow with three children, is a community organizer and health worker of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas and Anakpawis party list in Northern Mindanao.

Fr. Christopher Ablon, Karapatan secretary general in the region, said Tacalan was snatched by suspected state agents around 9 a.m. last April 27 in Cagayan de Oro City while on her way to Misamis Oriental.

Karapatan had denounced the appointment of Visaya saying he is a protégé of retired Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan, who has been tagged as a human rights violator, and is now a fugitive.
http://www.malaya.com.ph/index.php/news/nation/30673-military-said-abducted-rural-worker-is-a-ranking-npa