Ex-DAR chief condemns issuance of arrest warrant for 2006 murder case

MANILA, Philippines —mFormer Agrarian Reform secretary Rafael Mariano decried the issuance of warrants of arrest against him and three other former party-list legislators over “trumped-up” murder charges.

A Nueva Ecija court has issued warrants for the arrest of Mariano (Anakpawis), former Reps. Satur Ocampo and Teddy Casiño (Bayan Muna) and National Anti-Poverty Commission Secretary Liza Maza (Gabriela).

In 2006, they were accused of involvement in the abduction and killing of Danilo Felipe in 2001, Jimmy Peralta in 2003 and Carlito Bayudang in 2004—reportedly supporters of rival party-list Akbayan.

READ: Former party-list lawmakers face arrest for 2006 murder cases

Mariano, however, maintained that he was falsely charged and called the case “baseless, malicious and fabricated.”

“It is unjust that promotion of social justice and working for the common good is vilified and protecting of peasants’ right to land and security of tenure is criminalized by reviving old and trumped-up charges to stifle legitimate grievances and political dissent against anti-people, anti-democratic and repressive policies,” the former Anakpawis solon said in a statement Friday.

He demanded the authorities to drop the case.

The Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, where Mariano serves as the chairperson emeritus, claimed that the revival of the kidnap-murder case against the former solons was a “handiwork of the Inter-Agency Committee on Legal Action and Duterte militarist thugs.”

“This latest wave of harassment reeks of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Duterte’s joint stench. Parehong-pareho ng istilo. Kasabay ng pagbalik ni Arroyo sa kapangyarihan, binuhay ang mga pekeng kasong kriminal laban sa mga aktibista,” KMP said. 

The seven-member Makabayan bloc at the House of Representatives also asserted that the charges are “outrageous, unbelievable and preposterous.”

Malacañang distanced itself from decision of a Nueva Ecija court to issue arrest warrants against the four former party-list solons.

“The matter is still with the Regional Trial Court. The Palace will continue to respect the independence of our courts. We should therefore let the legal process run its course,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said.