The Public Interest Law Center (PILC) said Fernandez and company were kept inside the Army General Hospital (AGH) since March 25 without communication to the outside world save for a few visits.
The Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Philippine Army finally surfaced National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) peace consultant Francisco “Ka Frank” Fernandez after arresting him early Sunday morning and denying he was in their custody to human rights responders.
Frank Fernandez was the sixth NDFP peace consultant arrested since President Rodrigo Duterte terminated peace negotiations with the Left in November 2017.
Like the complaints it filed against four NDFP consultants it arrested in succession in 2018, the Philippine National Police (PNP) charged Gamara and his companion, retired priest Arturo Balagat, with illegal possession of firearms and explosives.
Sison said that Duterte’s latest announcement means nothing as the GRP leader already ended the peace negotiations in November 2017 and has since refused to return to the negotiating table.
Renante Gamara, NDFP peace consultant for the National Capital Region, was arrested by the Regional Special Operations Unit of the National Capital Region Police Office-Philippine National Police, Philippine Army and intelligence agents last night and was first brought to Camp General Pantaleon Garcia in Imus, Cavite.
“He has always schemed to use the armed conflict as an excuse for carrying out martial law nationwide and for railroading charter change to a bogus kind of federalism in order to realize and impose fascist dictatorship on the Filipino people.”
“This is specifically intended to pay tribute to the advocates of the resolution of the homegrown armed conflict on our soil.”
Yes, both rivers are flowing still, however much some people’s greed wishes to dam them or turn them to mud. Their waters flow ever northward, ever sure that, at the end of their travels, a wider and freer ocean awaits.
“Randy is a hero of the people who spent his life always working for genuine peace and betterment of the Filipino people,” Colmenares said as he urged the PNP to “stop spreading intrigues against him because they are just exposing their true colors.”
A beneficiary whose father was killed and burned by Philippine Constabulary troopers in the late 70s confirmed that Malayao never asked for money from her even after her family received Php1.7 million with his help.