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FOUR OTHERS STILL DETAINED

NDF consultant Saluta, alleged NPA commander, freed ahead of Oslo talks


A consultant of the National Democratic Front has been released from detention around midnight on Wednesday, a few days before the formal resumption of the peace talks between the government and the NDF in Oslo, Norway on August 20.

Lawyer Edre Olalia, the legal counsel of the NDF peace panel, confirmed to GMA News Online the release of Ruben Saluta from Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City.

Four other NDF consultants who were also expected to be released on Tuesday night remained under detention. They are:

  • Alan Jazmines -arrested February 2011 for rebellion and murder 
  • Tirso Alcantara - arrested in January 2011 for 23 warrants of arrest for murder 
  • Ernesto Lorenzo - arrested in July 2015 for destructive arson
  • Renante Gamara - arrested in April 2012 for murder 

The scheduled news conference to announce the release of the supposedly five consultants has been postponed.

"[The Public Interest Law Center and National Union of People's Lawyers], Karapatan paralegals and relatives of political prisoners are working darn hard to assist the PPs," Karapatan said in a statement.

The expected release of the NDF consultants, who the military alleged to be members of the NPA, came after NDF leaders led by Satur Ocampo met with President Rodrigo Duterte in Malacanang on Monday.

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III, the GPH chief negotiator in the Oslo talks, said that Duterte assured the NDF that its consultants will be given temporary freedom for the said talks.

Saluta was arrested in Caloocan City on March 4, 2015, together with Emmanuel Bacarra.

A statement from the Armed Forces of the Philippines identified Saluta and Bacarra as commanders of the New People's Army operating in Pasay City and the Mindoro provinces respectively.

They were arrested by joint police and military elements.

The statement added that courts in Quezon, Antique, and Occidental Mindoro have issued arrest warrants against the two.

It added that the two are facing charges for violation of Republic Act No. 6968 or the Anti-Rebellion Act of the Philippines for their roles in the NPA.

The NDF has condemned Saluta's arrest.

According to Luis Jalandoni, the chairman of the NDF negotiating panel, Saluta was an NDF consultant protected by the GPH-NDF Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG).

"NDFP Consultant Ruben A. Saluta has been issued NDFP Document of Identification ND978240 under the assumed name Lirio Magtibay, which he presented to the arresting officers," Jalandoni after his arrest in early 2015.

"The Aquino regime again shows its obstinate refusal to comply with its obligation to respect the reciprocal binding peace agreement JASIG signed in 1995 and approved by the Principals of both Parties," he added.

The human rights group Karapatan blamed the "tedious bureaucratic process and maze of paper requirements of release" for the continued detention of the four other NDF consultants. -NB/GMA News

 

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