Supreme Court asked to free ex-NPA leader Rodolfo Salas

The son of former New People's Army leader Rodolfo Salas has asked the Supreme Court (SC) to order the release of his father, who was arrested last week for murder over the alleged communist purges.

Assisted by the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG), Jody Salas filed a petition for the writ of habeas corpus urging the SC to order the Manila court that ordered the arrest and the city jail warden to produce his father's body and justify his detention.

After the writ is returned and the case heard, FLAG asked the SC to grant Rodolfo the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus, "ordering that Mr. Salas be immediately set free."

The lawyers also asked the SC to issue a temporary restraining order stopping Rodolfo's scheduled arraignment on February 28 and a writ of preliminary injunction against further case proceedings.

Rodolfo, also known as Kumander Bilog, was arrested on February 18 at his house in Angeles City on the strength of an arrest warrant for murder. Police claimed they seized a gun and ammunition from the 72-year-old.

He is detained at the Manila city jail with no bail recommended.

In the petition, FLAG told the SC armed uniformed men "barged into their (Rodolfo's) family premises," arrested Rodolfo, who had been sleeping, escorted him out of the house and into a vehicle, and searched the house without a search warrant.

They also claimed Rodolfo's detention violates his rights to due process and against double jeopardy.

Rodolfo faces murder charges over the discovery of a mass grave in Inopacan, Leyte which allegedly contained the bones of supposed victims of the communist purges in the 1980s.

But FLAG said Rodolfo is shielded from further prosecution for all acts committed in furtherance of rebellion by a plea bargain that became the basis for his conviction for rebellion in 1991.

He was imprisoned from 1986 to 1992, after he which he "worked on re-building his life with his family," FLAG said.

Years later, and despite the plea bargain deal, prosecutors charged him with murder without giving him the opportunity to participate in a preliminary investigation where he could have defended himself, FLAG said.

"The first time he found out about it was in the news wherein he heard that there was a case filed against him in Leyte," the lawyers' group told the High Court.

"The State saw to it that not even a whisper would be heard from him. And now Rodolfo finds himself once again in jail in the twilight of his years and without the possibility of posting bail," FLAG said.

FLAG said the 1987 Constitution, the plea-bargaining agreement, and the Hernandez-Enrile doctrine "shields" Rodolfo against future prosecution for rebellion and all "common crimes" committed to further the act of rebellion.

"The Court may take notice that Rodolfo has acknowledged his criminal liability for rebellion, for which he has already repaid his debt to society,"FLAG said.

"He fully served his sentence in jail and has since lived a quiet and normal life with his family. The continued state oppression against him, under the guise of prosecution of criminal charges, should not be allowed to continue." — RSJ, GMA News