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BY RUBY P. SILUBRICO
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Friday, June 30, 2017
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ILOILO City – A string of criminal charges were filed against 60 suspected members of the New People’s Army (NPA) for the June 18 raid of the police station in Maasin, Iloilo.
The following complaints were filed before the Iloilo Provincial Prosecutor’s Office yesterday:
* robbery in band
* serious illegal detention
* direct assault upon agents of persons in authority
* tumults and other disturbances of public order
* violation of Republic Act 10883 (New Anti-Carnapping Act of 2016)
The complainants were Maasin police station’s 23 police officers who were sacked following the raid.
According to Senior Superintendent Marlon Tayaba, director of the Iloilo Police Provincial Office (IPPO), the respondents were all members of NPA-Panay’s Coronado Chiva Waling-Waling Command.
Of the 60 respondents, however, only 20 were identified through the help of witnesses and the video of the raid that the rebels themselves recorded and posted online. They were the following:
* Joven Ceralvo, of Igbaras, Iloilo
* Joan Fajardo of Mina, Iloilo
* Chiva Diaz of Lambunao, Iloilo
* Melvin Dayaday of Dumarao, Capiz
* Mary Liych Bocala of Iloilo City
* Ronnie Canon of Tubungan, Iloilo
* Romeo Esmediana of Igbaras, Iloilo
* Joerey Cordero of Alimodian, Iloilo
* John Ray Aguado of Alimodian
* Gamay Montefrio of Maasin, Iloilo
* Karma John Suarez of Calinog, Iloilo
* Leizle Bandiola
* a certain Ruby and Katkat of Tapaz, Capiz
* Lanie Gardose and Christy Cabales of Tapaz, Capiz
* a certain Niel of Igbaras, Iloilo
* Randy Canoy Gamica of Tapaz, Capiz
* Erver Buenconchillo of Igbaras, Iloilo
* Levy John Palencia of Dumarao, Capiz.
Tayaba said Palencia owned the Isuzu Elf truck that the rebels used.
Ceralvo could also be the Ka Julio Montana who claimed to be the spokesperson of the Coronado Chiva Waling-Waling Command, said Tayaba.
On June 18 around 10:30 a.m. rebels stormed the police station of Maasin and immobilized helpless police officers.
The daring, broad daylight incursion was swift. Within 15 minutes the rebels shanghaied M16 rifles, Glock .9mm pistols, handheld radios and their base, laptops, mobile phones, money, and jewelry.
Tayaba said the rebels physically assaulted and locked the on-duty personnel inside the police station jail.
“After they completed their attack, they took the police patrol car and fired their guns. These acts were full of malice. They were a threat to the peace and order of the whole Region 6,” said Tayaba.
He urged the public to help the police keep communities safe.
“It is a shared responsibility,” said Tayaba.
Early this month, the IPPO disclosed that NPA rebels were planning to attack the police stations of 15 towns, including that of Maasin.
The information came from residents of hinterland barangays, said Chief Inspector Aron Palomo, IPPO spokesperson.
The police stations of the following towns were then put on red alert: Maasin, San Joaquin, Guimbal, Miag-ao, Tubungan, Igbaras, Alimodian, Leon, Calinog, Bingawan, Badiangan, San Enrique, Passi City, San Rafael, and Lemery.
In a statement, Ka Julio Montana enumerated several reasons for the Maasin raid. He accused Maasin policemen of extortion, with poor vendors as their primary victims.
Montana also claimed the Maasin police tolerated the proliferation of illegal drugs and illegal gambling in the town.
The raid was NPA-Panay’s answer, too, to Oplan Kapayapaan all-out war campaign of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philippine National Police against the revolutionary movement, Montana added.
Oplan Kapayapaan has resulted to rampant human rights violations such as illegal arrests, bombings of communities, forced evacuation of villagers, and killings of suspected rebels, among others, said Montana./PN
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