Gabriela says member harassed by OPAPRU; agency calls accusation 'baseless'

Members of the Office of the Presidential Adviser Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) had threatened to arrest an official of the Gabriela party-list in Metro Manila if she refused to work as a government informant, the group said on Friday.

The agency on Saturday dismissed Gabriela's accusation as "baseless, irresponsible, and unfounded."

In a statement, Gabriela said Elizabeth Maynigo, a longtime women’s rights defender and its Marikina chapter president, was harassed by individuals who introduced themselves as Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (now OPAPRU) personnel while Maynigo was in the hospital taking care of her father.

"She was asked to board a vehicle and was interrogated by men who identified themselves as members of OPAPP on March 15," Gabriela said.

"While she was being interrogated inside the vehicle, Maynigo claimed that there were other men on standby outside the vehicle. She was also asked to be an 'agent' for OPAPP and report to them all of the activities of the Gabriela Women's Party in Marikina City. [And that] if she refuses, the officers from OPAPP said that they will proceed with the issuance of a warrant of arrest for rebellion against Maynigo," it added.

The party-list said the "intimidation tactic is placing the life and safety of Maynigo and her family in danger and should be immediately put to an end."

"Prior to this, she reported incidents of men on board a motorcycle visiting her home in Marikina City and of feeding program activities by the NTF-ELCAC (National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict) within their neighborhood," Gabriela said.

OPAPRU denied that it was involved in the alleged harassment of Maynigo.

Likewise, the agency said that it "immediately conducted internal checking when the allegation broke out in social media."

"OPAPRU did not receive any communication from Gabriela to raise and seek our response to the concern; rather, they went all out to besmirch the agency’s reputation," it said.

"The accusation is contrary to the core values of the agency, which are to promote conflict sensitivity and peace promotion," OPAPRU added.

OPAPRU called on Gabriela to get its facts straight and be responsible for the information it shares with the public. 

"OPAPRU is very willing to help not just Gabriela but also any other citizen of the Republic. We urged organizations like Gabriela to follow procedures that have long existed when making complaints against our personnel or any official of the government," it said. —LBG/VBL, GMA Integrated News