STOP THE HARASSMENT Protesters, led by Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes, call for a stop to the political persecution of Satur Ocampo, Liza Maza, Teddy Casi帽o and Rafael Mariano, who are facing arrest in connection with the 2006 killing of three men in Nueva Ecija. 鈥擭I脩O JESUS ORBETA
Surrender instead of waiting to be arrested.
The Philippine National Police chief made the appeal to former party-list lawmakers鈥攊ncluding National Anti-Poverty Commission chief Liza Maza鈥攚ho have been issued arrest warrants by a Nueva Ecija court in connection with a multiple murder case.
At a press conference on Monday in Camp Crame, PNP Director General Oscar Albayalde said the police were 鈥渄uty-bound鈥� and 鈥渃onstitutionally mandated鈥� to implement the arrest order issued last week by the Palayan City Regional Trial Court Branch 40.
The warrants were issued for former Bayan Muna Representatives Satur Ocampo and Teodoro Casi帽o, former Gabriela Representative Maza, former Agrarian Reform Secretary and ex-Anakpawis Rep. Rafael Mariano, Vicente Cayetano, Delfin Pimentel and Emeterio Atalan.
While the PNP had already sent out arresting teams to serve the warrants, Albayalde said, 鈥淚 am also appealing to these individuals to just turn themselves in and to submit themselves to judicial processes.鈥�
The PNP chief said he hoped the subjects of the warrants would send surrender feelers within the week.
The warrants arose from a multiple murder case the Nueva Ecija police filed in 2006 during the administration of then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
The PNP, acting on complaints by widows of the victims and the testimony of an alleged 鈥渃oconspirator鈥� in the crime, accused 19 people, including the militant leaders, of having a hand in the deaths of Carlito Bayudang, Jimmy Peralta and Danilo Felipe.
Bayudang, Peralta and Felipe were killed allegedly because they were supporters of Akbayan, a rival party-list group.
The Supreme Court ordered the Palayan court in 2017 to continue hearing the case, setting aside orders issued by the lower court in 2008 remanding the case to the Nueva Ecija prosecutor鈥檚 office for preliminary investigation.
As Albayalde held the press conference, groups belonging to Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) staged a rally just outside Camp Crame, calling for the dropping of charges against the militant leaders.
Bayan said the charges were fabricated and baseless.
鈥淣ow, Regional Trial Court Judge [Evelyn Turla] found probable cause, when earlier she could not. These are definitely unusual circumstances,鈥� the group said in a statement.
鈥楿苍蹿补颈谤鈥�
In a statement, the legal counsel of the former party-list representatives on Monday described as 鈥渦nfair鈥� Albayalde鈥檚 encouragement for 鈥渢he innocent to surrender.鈥�
鈥淭he warrant stems from a clearly trumped-up charge initiated 12 years ago by the PNP, the military and the Inter-Agency Legal Action Group, and was part of the legal offensive policy of the Arroyo administration against progressive leaders of mass organizations,鈥� said Rachel Pastores of the Public Interest Law Center.
DEFIANCE Then Representatives Satur Ocampo, Rafael Mariano, Liza Maza and Teddy Casi帽o arrive at the House of Representatives in this photo taken on Feb. 27, 2006. 鈥擨NQUIRER FILE PHOTO
Pastores noted that the 鈥渁lleged witnesses in the case have long been found by different tribunals to have lied about the facts in this case. They were even adjudged liable for damages鈥� for besmirching [Ocampo鈥檚] reputation.鈥�
鈥淥ur clients are not in hiding, but considering the climate of impunity, they are taking the necessary precautions while they weigh all options to ensure their safety and to protect their rights,鈥� she said.
Pastores gave assurance that the leaders would face the charges against them, adding that they had filed a motion for reconsideration in the Palayan court and had asked the court to dismiss the charges against them.
Political harassment
Asked about allegations that the case was revived as part of political harassment arising from Arroyo鈥檚 rise to power as Speaker, Albayalde said: 鈥淭his is a court order. All we will do is follow [it], as part of of our mandate to serve warrants of arrest. We have no hold over what happened before.鈥�
On Monday, the Communist Party of the Philippines said the revival of the charges against the militant leaders 鈥渋s a portent of more general crackdown following successive arrests and detention of activists and human rights workers across the country.鈥� 鈥�With reports from Frinston Lim and Julia Ornedo