An eyewitness account
The Major Elequin Release
A feast
of native cakes, rice, broiled bangus (milkfish) and alimango
(crabs) waited at the table inside a small house where the turn-over
ceremony will take place. Wearing faded gray shorts and a chequered blue
polo shirt, the 50-year old air force engineer engaged in light banter and
offered profuse thanks to the guerrillas as he ate.
By Abner Bolos
Pokus
Gitnang
Luson
Posted by
Bulatlat
Philippine Air Force Major
Neptune Elequin alighted from the motor boat in the river bank with a
smile on his face as he greeted fully-armed New People’s Army guerrillas
who were waiting to release him to Senator Rodolfo Biazon.
He wore no handcuffs and he
carried a bag full of clothes and souvenirs for his wife. Barring any
hitches, the 7-month long captivity of Elequin by the NPA’s Josepino
Corpuz Command will end tonight, February 3, in this coastal town
somewhere in Central Luzon.
A feast of native cakes,
rice, broiled bangus (milkfish) and alimango (crabs) waited
at the table inside a small house where the turn-over ceremony will take
place. Wearing faded gray shorts and a chequered blue polo shirt, the
50-year old air force engineer engaged in light banter and offered profuse
thanks to the guerrillas as he ate.
|
RELEASED: Air Force engineer Neptune
Elquin exchanges pleasantries with his
erstwhile captors during his release
GLNS
PHOTO |
He was later brought to a
room where a volunteer doctor conducted a medical examination. He was
pronounced in good health except for a slight wound on his right leg which
he got from insect bites, according to a member of his custodial unit.
While waiting for Biazon’s
arrival, Ka Budz, representative of the Communist Party of the Philippines
(CPP) Central Luzon Regional Party Committee, handed to Elequin a copy of
the Order of Release issued by the National Democratic Front of the
Philippines (NDF) and explained it to him in detail.
As dusk fell, Biazon,
Methodist Bishop Solito Toquero and a Catholic priest arrived on board
another boat. Biazon, a former Philippine Marine general arrived with no
security escort and shook the hands of almost all of some 20 NPA members
who received him. The guerrillas are mostly in their 20s and a number of
them are female.
“Hindi ko alam kung sasaludo
ako kay Heneral,
(I am not sure if I should salute the General)” Elequin jokingly told the
NPA members beside him.
“Pwede naman pong hindi. Nasa
sonang gerilya tayo at batas ng rebolusyonaryong kilusan ang umiiral dito,”
(You can choose not to. We are in a guerrilla zone and the laws of the
revolutionary movement reigns here), an NPA member replied.
Turn-over ceremony
Shortly before 7 p.m., Ka
Budz, Ka Luis, head of the custodial force, and Ka Rosa, representative of
NDF-Central Luzon, sat on the table on the make-shift stage to signal the
start of the turn-over ceremonies. Banners of the NPA, NDF and CPP served
as backdrop.
Biazon’s group sat on a
wooden bench along the right wall facing the stage. Elequin sat to the
left and behind him stood a female member of the custodial force armed
with an M-16 rifle. From his arrival until his departure, Elequin was not
handcuffed and was free to move around.
“Ang pagpapalayang ito ay
ginagawa sa kabila ng mga kahirapan at panganib sa panig ng PKP, BHB at
NDF dahil sa pagtindi ng mga atake ng mga pwersa ng gubyerno laban sa mga
rebolusyonaryong base sa Central Luzon. Nagmatigas at tumanggi ang
rehimeng Arroyo na makipag-usap at makipagkasundo para maayos, mabilis at
ligtas na mapalaya ang POW,”
(The release is being done despite
the difficult circumstances and great risks on the part of the CPP, NPA
and the NDF resulting from the refusal of the Arroyo government to abide
by previously agreed protocols in the release of POWs and the
intensification of attacks by government forces against revolutionary
bases in Central Luzon), Ka Budz read from a prepared statement.
Ka Budz said the Arroyo
government “exhibited not a speck of sympathy for the plight of Maj.
Elequin” and that it “refused to negotiate for the release of the
prisoner-of-war despite the constant appeals of Maj. Elequin's family and
friends among officers and men of the AFP."
He said the release was made “as a gesture
of goodwill to the anti-Arroyo forces within the AFP and PNP who are
determined to withdraw support from the chain of command and join the
people in overthrowing (the Arroyo government).”
Ka Rosa then read the
four-page order of release which was later signed by Elequin and Ka Luis,
commanding officer of the NPA custodial force. The order was dated January
15, 2006 and was signed by NDF negotiating panel chair Luis Jalandoni in
Utrecht, The Netherlands.
No criminal charge
“The prisoner has been
investigated by the responsible organs of the Detaining Power…and have
certified there is no criminal charge against him,” the order said.
Elequin was born to a poor
peasant family in San Remigio, Antique province. Two of his brothers were
soldiers and as a reservist, he applied to become an officer in 1979 but
was accepted only as an enlisted man in 1984. He rose through the ranks
through hard work, records of the custodial force show.
He was the civil-military
operations officer of the Philippine Air Force’s 355th
Engineering Battalion in Basa Air Base in Pampanga when he was captured on
July 2 last year.
The NDF-Central Luzon offered
to release Elequin several times last year if the government will declare
a suspension of military operations. The last offer was made in December.
The government ignored the offers.
“Natutuwa ako na dahil sa
iginagalang ng NPA karapatang pantao ay makakalaya ako. Sana ay lalo pa
nating isulong ito para magkaroon ng kapayapaan sa ating bansa,”
(I’m glad that because the NPA respects human rights I will be set free. I
hope we continue [to respect human rights] so that we can have peace in
our country), Elequin said during the turn-over ceremony.
“Maganda ang naging trato sa
akin. Hindi man lang nila ako kinurot. Kung ano ang kinakain ng mga kasama
ay siya ko ring kinakain,” (I was treated well. I did not suffer even a
pinch. What the comrades ate I also had), Elequin said.
Talk peace
In his brief remarks at the
turn-over ceremony, Biazon said: “Ako ay nabigla kung bakit ako ang
napili na tatanggap kay Major Elequin. (I was surprised that I was
chosen to receive Major Elequin.) I will not betray the trust that you
have given me.”
The custodial force have
asked Biazon not to tell anyone about his role in Elequin’s release,
especially the place where it will take place. “The NPA can defend
themselves. But we do not want the masses to suffer once the military gets
wind of the place and attempts to attack us,” a member of the custodial
force told Biazon.
“Ang tao ay tao at ang
pamilya ay pamilya”
(A human being is a human being and a family is a family), Biazon said
expressing his gratitude that Elequin’s life was spared and that his
family did not have to suffer the loss of a father.
“I was moved when I saw
young ladies here with rifles slung on their shoulders. This fighting must
stop. We must continue to talk peace and respect human rights,” Biazon
said.
After the ceremony, Biazon
went near the NPA members who were singing “revolutionary songs” as part
of the program and listened intently. He even asked for copies of the
song’s lyrics.
Shortly after 8:00 pm, after
an endless round of handshakes and farewells, Biazon and Elequin, along
with the church leaders boarded the motor boat that will take the
prisoner-of-war home. Posted by Bulatlat
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