An NDFP peace consultant and two youth activists, dubbed the Himamaylan 3, were arrested at 4:00 AM in Barangay Suay, Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental on March 18, 2022. They currently face trumped-up charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives, according to Kabataan Partylist-Cebu.
In a statement released by Kabataan Partylist-Cebu, the Himamaylan 3, composed of peace consultant Ramon Patriarca, and youth activists CJ Matarlo and John Michael Tecson, were conducting “an in-depth social investigation on the exemption of the Cojuangco estates in terms of land redistribution and how this has only worsened the slave-like conditions of agricultural workers.”
The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), in a separate statement, has said that Patriarca’s study aimed to “contribute to the second substantive agenda of the peace talks which is the crafting of the Comprehensive Agreement on Socio-Economic Reform (CASER).”
The NDFP added that the arrest of peace consultant Patriarca is a “flagrant violation” of the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantee (JASIG), an agreement signed between the Philippine government and the NDFP during the formal peace talks.
“JASIG is still in effect despite the suspension of formal peace talks. It can only be rescinded by a bilateral process clearly stipulated in the agreement itself,” said Bayani Obrero, spokesperson of the NDF-Negros Island.
The JASIG was signed by both parties to protect individuals involved in the peace negotiations.
Patriarca is also a former political prisoner who faced charges of murder in Danao, Cebu in 2009 that have now been dismissed.
CJ Matarlo, a cum laude graduate of BA Mass Communication from the University of the Philippines Cebu, is a former coordinator for Kabataan Partylist-Cebu and served as the Vice President for Visayas of Kabataan Partylist in 2019. She is also a former convener for Negros-based youth organization Kabataan Para sa Karapatan (KPK).
Matarlo is also the only survivor in the “Bayawan 2” shooting in Bayawan City, Negros Oriental on November 28, 2017. The incident took the lives of Karapatan-Negros coordinator Elisa Badayos and farmer leader Eleuterio Moises. Matarlo and her group had been conducting a fact-finding mission into the rights violations in the area when the shooting occurred.
John Michael Tecson, a member of Youth for Peace and Environmental Concerns (YPEC), is the son of Alberto Tecson, the chairperson of fisherfolk organization PAMALAKAYA-Guihulngan City who was gunned down in 2017 by suspected elements of the 79th Infantry Battalion after they accused him of transporting armed groups using his pump boat.
Kabataan Partylist-Cebu said that Patriarca had reached out to the two youth activists for assistance with the study on the Cojuangco estates.
“With their long-time experience as youth organizer and peasant advocate, CJ and Tecson accepted this request,” the group stated.
The Himamaylan 3 are currently detained at the Himamaylan Police Station.
