NGO says arrested member is not a 'rebel'

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines – The alleged rebel who was arrested and charged in court for the bloody April 2012 ambush in Tinoc town, Ifugao where 13 government forces were killed, is a member of the left-leaning partylist group Piston.

Saying Virgilio Corpuz is not a rebel, non-government and civil society groups in Northern Luzon are urging the government to stop “vilification campaigns” against so-called anti-government individuals and groups. Corpuz is now being tried by the  Regional Trial Court branch 14 in Lagawe, Ifugao.

Corpuz,  the Baguio-based NGO Rural Development Council-Kaduami (RDC-Kaduami) said, was arrested in Santiago City, Isabela on January 4, then transferred to Ifugao the next day, is their member who  help them assist marginalized communities threatened by land grabbing, food insecurity and disenfranchisement.   He also reportedly contributes articles on  various issues, including the local struggles in Cagayan Valley to regional newspapers.

Recently, Corpuz wrote about the bio-ethanol project of a foreign company in Isabela that has allegedly converted an agricultural area into an energy consortium, adversely affecting food security and land ownership of residents in the area.

Corpuz, who has posted bail, was elected to be the Region 2 coordinator of the Piston Partylist.

RDC-Kauami condemned Corpuz's arrest as "unjust", saying he was not included in the warrant of arrest issued by the court.

“Not An Isolated Case”

Corpuz’s arrest,  Kaduami said “is not isolated", adding that  “the pattern of imputing false charges and vilifying development workers is part of the counter-insurgency program that seeks to isolate people working for development, change, peace and justice, and attempts to brand them as enemies of the state.”

His arrest, the group added, comes in the wake of harassments and threats to life and security of development workers in Cagayan Valley.

Earlier, Isabelo Adviento, another regional development worker of RDC-NL in Cagayan was reportedly arrested on charges of usurpation of authority for allegedly impersonating a police officer.

Agnes Mesina, a coordinator for Religious Missionaries of the Philippines was also arrested last year on supposed trumped up charges of frustrated murder in Tuguegarao, Cagayan in the presence of ACT Partylist Rep. Antonio Tinio, who just finished a talk with public school teachers.

In the Cordillera, health workers of Community Health Education Services and Training in the Cordillera Region (Chestcore) and the Consortium of Development Programs in the Cordillera are reportedly facing alleged similar harassments and red-tagging.

The groups added that this pattern is happening all over the country and arrests and harassment are happening especially against indigenous community leaders.