Captured NPA leader not covered by immunity

MANILA, Philippines - The alleged leader of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA), who was arrested in Iloilo on Saturday, was not covered by immunity, according to a member of the government peace panel.

Maria Concepcion Araneta-Bocala, alias Remi Estrella, said to be the secretary general of the CPP-NPA Rehiyong Komite Panay was not covered by the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG), according to Alex Padilla, chief of the government peace panel handling peace talks with the NPA-National Democratic Front (NDF).

Padilla was reacting to claims by the NPA-NDF and members of the human rights organizations that Bocala was covered by JASIG.

In a statement released on Monday by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, Padilla said JASIG covers only NPA-NDF personalities who are using their real names and those who are recognized by the government as participants in the peace talks.

He said due to a failed verification process in 2011, JASIG is no longer applicable to those rebels who are using aliases.

“With the failure of the validation process, there is no basis to verify if Maria Concepcion Araneta-Bocala and the alias Remi Estrella are one and the same person. She is therefore not covered by JASIG,” Padilla said.