NPA rebs free Army sergeant

DAVAO CITY – Communist guerrillas said yesterday they have freed a soldier they had detained for nearly a month, despite the rebels’ finding that he committed human rights violations while fighting them.

The Menardo Arce Command of the New People’s Army (NPA) operating in Southern Mindanao said S/Sgt. Alberto Baludoya, a detachment commander of the Army’s 72nd Infantry Battalion in Barangay Aliwagwag in Cateel, Davao Oriental, was freed Tuesday after his family appealed for his release.

Baludoya, who was captured last April 13, was treated well and provided with adequate food and medical care, said the NPA command’s spokesman, Rigoberto Sanchez.

"The NPA has again taken the high political and moral ground as against the pit-level barbarity and brutality of the enemy," Sanchez said in a statement.

A regional Army officer, Col. Benito de Leon, said Baludoya was released to officials of Monkayo town and the International Red Cross at the boundary of Agusan del Sur and Compostela Valley provinces near Davao Oriental.

Baludoya underwent a medical checkup and was being questioned about his abduction, De Leon said.

Baludoya was first presented to Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, who heads the Regional Peace and Order Council, at the Task Force Davao headquarters here before he was turned over to the Army’s 10th Infantry Division.

Lt. Gen. Rodolfo Obaniana, chief of the Armed Forces Eastern Mindanao Command, said no ransom was paid for Baludoya’s release.

Sanchez said a rebel investigation showed that Baludoya, during his 17 years in the military, joined counter-insurgency operations that included human rights violations, including coercing villagers to join anti-communist militias.

Appeals by his family prompted the guerrillas to release Baludoya and temporarily shelve the accusations against him, which could be revived if he continues to commit "crimes against the people and the revolutionary forces," Sanchez said.

Lt. Col. Rolando Bautista, chief of the 10th ID’s civil-military office, said they need to first make an assessment before Baludoya is allowed to return to the military service.

"It really depends on the assessment. At this time, we still cannot tell. We are still letting him take a rest and organize his thoughts," he said.

In 2004, the rebels captured two Army officers during a clash in a mountainous area and were freed after five months of jungle captivity.

Amid a sharp rise in rebel attacks on military and police targets, President Arroyo has ordered an intensified campaign to finish off the estimated 7,200-strong NPA, which has been waging a rural-based rebellion for 38 years.

The rebels, who claim to operate in nearly 70 of 79 provinces, broke off from Norwegian-brokered peace talks a few years ago after accusing the government of instigating their inclusion on US and European lists of terrorist groups. – With Ding Cervantes and AP