BACOLOD CITY, Philippines – The revolutionary court of the New People’s Army (NPA) on Negros Island has issued “arrest warrants†against eight suspects in the killing of Kabankalan City judge Henry Arles in April last year.
Juanito Magbanua II, spokesman of the NPA’s Apolinario Gatmaitan Command, said in a statement Tuesday that they have launched a manhunt for former vice mayor John Paul Alvarez of Ilog town; Revolutionary Proletarian Army-Alex Boncayao Brigade (RPA-ABB) members Marvin Salve, Gerald Tabujara, Jessie Daguia, Eddie Fortunado, Alejandro Capunong, and Rustom Puro; and Emmanuel Medes, an administrative aide of the Ilog municipal government, for their alleged role in the Arles killing.
The NPA also summoned former Negros Occidental vice governor Genaro Alvarez Jr. to appear before its “court†for questioning on the alleged participation of his son, John Paul, in the killing.
They also asked the elder Alvarez to confirm if he had a hand in the Department of Justice (DOJ) resolution that dismissed the charges against him, his son and Cauayan Vice Mayor Jerry Tabujara, but upheld the case against seven RPA-ABB members.
In its statement, the NPA, citing evidence and testimonies of witnesses, tagged John Paul as the alleged mastermind, saying the killing was politically motivated as the Alvarez family supposedly felt threatened that their political dominance in the sixth district would end with the congressional candidacy of Arles’ son, Philip, in 2010 and 2013.
The young Arles though lost in both elections to Mercedes Alvarez, John Paul’s sister.
“They (Alvarez family) also suspected that the judge had a hand in the graft and corruption case filed against Vice Mayor Alvarez,†the NPA added.
The Alvarezes, however, have repeatedly denied participation in the killing, saying the allegations were all politically motivated.
The Arles family and the National Bureau of Investigation filed murder charges against 10 suspects in July 2012.
But last May, the DOJ cleared three of them, namely John Paul Alvarez and his father, and Cauayan Vice Mayor Jerry Tabujara due to insufficient evidence, and upheld the filing of murder charges against the seven other respondents.
All the seven suspects are at large. Daguia, Capunong, and Fortunado were earlier arrested and put in NBI custody in Manila, but the courts here ordered them released on bail.