10 suspected NPA rebs held, released in Quezon

Ten suspected members of the New People’s Army (NPA) were held for questioning in San Narciso, Quezon on Tuesday night by government forces who later released them, in consideration of the ongoing holiday ceasefire. The human rights group Karapatan-Southern Tagalog, however, lashed at the military for nabbing the 10, whom it claimed were student of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines. Karapatan said soldiers of the Philippine Army’s 74th Infantry Battalion nabbed the 10 while they were “visiting" San Andres, a barangay in the town. The group did not explain why the 10 were visiting the area, although the coastal town has some beaches frequented by tourists. Col. Generoso Bolina, spokesman of the Army’s Southern Luzon Command, said elements of the 74th IB and San Narciso policemen went to San Andres, following complaints that a group of men were extorting and inviting the residents to join a rally in Metro Manila next month. “Actually, the (village) residents were complaining and we acted on it. There was some of sort extortion ongoing, they (residents) were asked to make donations," Bolina also said. Bolina said that residents had reported that the 10 were in the house of a certain Dante Aurellana at around 5 p.m. Tuesday. He named the suspected rebels as Nora Mael, Donna Atienza, Myleen Udias, Francisco Garcia, Mary Soriano, Rosilda Alarde, Melchor Galman, Jonald Tiramis, Joyce Pilo and Jomar Palay. GMANews.TV did a quick search online and found that only one of the 10 suspected rebels, Donna Atienza, had a cyber presence, and that none of the “Donna Atienza" profiles online was associated with the PUP. GMANews.TV was also unable to check with the state university if any of the 10 suspects were students of the state university, as academic personnel were on Christmas vacation. At around 10 p.m. Wednesday, Bolina said the 10 were “invited for verification" to the town police station. None of them were armed and all did not resist the invitation. Bolina said that while the 10 did not say much during the verification process and did not explicitly admit that they were NPA members, the military was inclined to believe that they were communist rebels. “There are indications that they are indeed members of the underground movement," said Bolina. One indication, he said, is that the 10 are from different areas, including Metro Manila. However, the 10 were released, in keeping with the spirit of the 19-day holiday ceasefire, which government forces and communist rebels began implementing last Dec. 16. “We were just invited them, questioned, and to verify (some things)...but because of the SOMO, we did not (detain them). We released them," he said. Karapatan-Southern Tagalog deputy secretary general Glen Malabanan belied the military’s allegations that the 10 were NPA rebels. “Why did they arrest the 10? For what reason?" Malabanan asked. He also claimed that some of the 10 were members of the women’s group Gabriela. Malabanan also said that his group was still unaware of the whereabouts of the 10. “If they were released, their families should be aware of this. Their families are still on the way (to Quezon)," he said. According to Malabanan, despite the ceasefire, soldiers were will undertaking operations in Southern Tagalog, and even going after civilians they perceive to be supporters of the communist movement. — DM/KBK, GMANews.TV