Calls intensify for Cordillera rebel leader’s release
October 28, 2024

By DONNA PETA
www.nordis.net

LAOAG CITY—The family, human rights groups, and the revolutionary movement continue to call for the release of Cordillera rebel leader Simon Naogsan on humanitarian grounds and his “protected status” under the security and immunity pact between the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP).

Joint police and military personnel arrested the 70-year-old spokesperson for the Cordillera Peoples Democratic Front (CPDF) in a house in Bacarra, Ilocos Norte, at about 5:40 AM on October 21.

Naogsan has been detained at the Ilocos Sur Provincial Jail since October 28, after being held under heavy guard at the Laoag City Jail, according to his grandson.

“When we first saw him, we felt intimidated because he had so many heavily armed guards. Our grandfather was very old and did not need that many people to secure him in detention,” said Maegan Naogsan in Ilokano.

Authorities transferred Naogsan to Ilocos Sur following his presentation at the Tagudin Regional Trial Court for murder, frustrated murder, and attempted murder charges. He also faces multiple murder charges in Bontoc, Mountain Province.

Health concerns

The family and the Ilocos Human Rights Advocates (IHRA) have been urging the police to provide necessary medical attention to Naogsan since the first day of his arrest, especially after the arresting unit declined to disclose his whereabouts. They said the police only allowed the family and their paralegals to see and talk with Naogsan at around 8:00 PM, more than 14 hours after his reported time of arrest.

His family reported that the CPDF spokesperson suffers from chronic kidney disease, diabetes, uncontrolled hypertension, and osteoarthritis.

Rodrigo Catcatan, a Laoag City Health Office doctor, examined Naogsan on October 23 and recommended that he undergo laboratory tests.

“We are requesting that he be taken to the hospital immediately and undergo laboratory tests to determine his true condition. It’s not enough to only check his blood pressure; we need to understand what is happening inside his body,” said the younger Naogsan.

He lamented that during their search, they were passed around between various police officials and agencies “despite our explanation that our grandfather had crucial medical needs.”

“They (police) should not do that—pass us around from one office to another. At first, they did not even want to give him his medication. If we had not insisted, they would not have recognized his needs,” he added.

Lieutenant Colonel Roldan Suitos, officer-in-charge of the Bacarra Police Station, assured the family in a letter dated October 25 that they provided all available medical support for Naogsan. He stated that medical personnel monitored the detainee’s condition every four hours.

“Much as we desire to bring him to the hospital, we cannot do so, much less grant your request for immediate hospitalization of your relative, considering that we have not yet received any court order placing him under hospital arrest,” the letter read.

In an interview on October 21, Suitos denied having personal knowledge of Naogsan’s arrest, saying he had yet to verify the information as he was in a conference when the incident occurred.

JASIG protected

The Communist Party of the Philippines and NDFP condemned Naogsan’s arrest as a “violation of the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG),” an agreement between the NDFP and the GRP that protects those participating in peace negotiations from reprisals by either party.

Meanwhile, NDFP Ilocos has noted the government’s tendency to arrest, detain, and file charges against hors de combat, citing the cases of Naogsan and the “three sick NPA Red fighters” captured in Apayao.

The group stated: “(T)hese acts of illegal arrest, detention, and the charging of trumped-up offenses against hors de combat revolutionary forces seeking medical attention infringe upon their rights under International Humanitarian Law and the (Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law.)”

Naogsan’s detention follows the earlier arrest of NDFP consultant Porferio Tuna in Tagum City, Davao del Norte. A few days later, authorities also apprehended another NDFP consultant, Wigberto Villarico, who was seeking medical care in Quezon City.

Juliet De Lima, chair of the NDFP Negotiating Panel, emphasized that Naogsan, Tuna, and Villarico are vital to the resumption of peace negotiations as they provide essential insights.

“Their unlawful arrests only serve to foster growing distrust and heightened tensions at a time when space for dialogue is critical,” she said.

“With consultants and negotiators of the NDFP repeatedly subjected to arbitrary arrests, extrajudicial killings, and torture, the GRP has made a mockery of its own supposed commitment to peace,” De Lima added. # nordis.net

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