DAVAO CITY, Philippines — The relatives of the four residents accused as New People’s Army rebels and arrested by the military in Laak, Compostela Valley on June 27 said the four were only fishing past the “curfew” hour.
The family of the four civilians maintained the arrest was “baseless” and appealed to Pres. Rodrigo Duterte for their immediate release.
The Army said government troops arrested four men saying the latter were caught placing improvised explosive device by the roadside in Purok 2 (Kilometer 26) of Barangay L.S. Sarmiento in Laak town around 6 am last Tuesday.
The arrested civilians were Junrex Mission, Jimmy Adlin, Romar Ruales and Ronel Tonlay.
Imelda Mission, 52, mother of Junrex Mission said her son is not an NPA rebel but an active official in their barangay. Junrex is second out of seven siblings.
“He is a first Kagawad of the Barangay and an active official of the barangay’s peace and order committee,” Mission told Davao Today in a phone interview Tuesday.
Mission said the four civilians asked permission from Barangay Captain Rolando Amac of Barangay LS Sarmiento that they will go fishing in a pond.
She said the village is implementing a curfew at 10 pm. She said the four individuals informed the Barangay Captain around 5:30 pm, however the barangay captain, was not able to inform the military.
Mission said the four tried not to violate the curfew, but they finished around 10:30 pm. She said when the four were about to go home, the soldiers fired at them.
Mission said: “At 5 am, the soldiers found Junrex standing behind a tree holding a device used to electrocute fishes and told the military that he is a civilian.”
She said the four were brought to the military detachment, but the soldiers did not allow Amac and other barangay officials to talk to the suspects.
“Our barangay captain expressed dismay because he was not given the right to talk to the four residents. They just violated the curfew,” she said.
Tortured?
Rose Janine Mission, 25, also denied her husband is an NPA rebel. Rose also pointed out that her husband who was a farmer is a civilian even served as a “purok chairman” in the previous year.
She added that when she visited her husband in the police station he told her he was “tortured.”
“Gi-butt stroke daw siya sa kilid (He was butt stroked on his side),” Rose said.
She also called on the police to free her husband. She said their 7-year old child was not able to go to school because of the incident. They also have a 10-month old child.
Former CAFGU
In a separate interview, Emily Adlin told a radio interview that her brother Jimmy is not an NPA fighter. She said Jimmy even served as a Cafgu before, but he quit when he had a hearing problem.
“Intawon inosente ni sila. Dili mi magpakaulaw nga kung tinuod ang gipasaka sa among mga igsoon. Maglisud man gani og pakaon sa ilahang pamilya katulo unya mao nay nahitabo intawon (They are all innocent. We will not bring this attention to ourselves if the case against them are true. They even have difficulty in feeding their families three times a day and then this will happen to them),” she said.
Adlin also appealed to authorities that her brother and the other suspects will be freed immediately.
Admission
2Lt. Amadeuz Vincent John Celestial, Civil Military Officer of the 60th Infantry Battalion told Davao Today in a phone interview that the four “admitted they were NPAs.”
“Sila naman ay nahuli at nag-admit sila, although this is admissible because this is outside the court when they admitted they were NPAs, but the allegations that they were NPAs came from them,” Celestial said.
“They volunteered that information,” he added.
Celestial said last week, the four were already placed under inquest proceeding in Nabunturan trial court last June 27.
He said all four may be facing charges for possible violation of Republic Act 9516 or the law on the illegal possession, manufacture, dealing, acquisition or disposition of firearms, ammunition and explosives.
Celestial said the allegations of harassment committed by the military are “unfounded and unsubstantiated.” (davaotoday.com)
