by Ken E. Cagula

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Several days after the memorandum of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) tagging Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) and COURAGE as communist fronts was exposed, the military and police arrested another progressive leader in Caraga region on March 17.

In a Facebook alert from Karapatan-Caraga, the authorities arrested Rosanilla “Lai” Consad, the assistant principal of San Vicente National High School in Butuan City and secretary general of ACT in Caraga.

Consad has been charged for allegedly attacking PFC Junrel Cornelio and Cafgu Auxilliary Emiliano Sajol Jr., both under the 29th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army as stipulated in a warrant of her arrest issued by the 10th Judicial Region, Municipal Trial Court in Tubay-Santiago in Agusan del Norte.

Assistant Minority Leader and ACT Representative France Castro demanded for Consad’s immediate release and the charges be dropped.
“Ma’am Lai has been a victim of harassment, threats, and red-tagging by state security forces for standing up for the rights and welfare of her fellow public school teachers in Region XIII,” Castro said.

Castro said the Duterte administration through its military, police, and paramilitary forces has tagged people who help others or rescue communities as kidnappers and child abusers while legal and humanitarian acts are considered as crimes as she added saying, ‘’those who opposed the anti-people policies of the Duterte administration are tagged as terrorists.”

Castro underscored that the arrest happened a few days after the DILG released a memorandum tagging ACT as a communist terrorist front organization.

Last February, three other leaders from progressive organizations and one humanitarian worker in Caraga were arrested by authorities accused as ranking members of the communist rebels. Two of them are both elderly.

Karapatan-Caraga asserted that the accusations are made up as the four arrested individuals who are senior citizens had never set foot in the areas where the alleged crimes happened. (davaotoday.com)