Suspected NPA’s wife files petition for habeas corpus

The wife of labor leader Ricardo Belamia has employed legal means to have her husband freed from what she alleged as an illegal arrest and detention.

Editha Belamia, through lawyer Noel Archival, yesterday filed a Petition for Habeas Corpus to have the labor leader presented in court and eventually released.  The petition was filed against S/Supt. Augusto Marquez Jr., commanding officer of the Regional Intelligence Division of the Police Regional Office-7.

Editha alleged that authorities arrested her husband despite the fact that his name was not in the original copy of the alias warrant of arrest issued by the Regional Trial Court in Danao City.  She said that his name in the warrant presented by the arresting officers was only typewritten on top of the alias name “Ka Yuri”.

When the arresting officers brought Belamia to the RTC in Danao on November 5 for a commitment order, the court refused to issue the order because there was no amended information changing the name “Ka Yuri” to that of Belamia’s.

“The police officers did not prove that Ricardo Belamia and Ka Yuri are one and the same person.  Importantly, Ricardo Belamia was not mentioned in the said Alias Warrant of Arrest and there is no proof that Ricardo Belamia and Ka Yuri are one and same person,” the petition reads.

“The restraint of Ricardo Belamia’s liberty by the police officers under the command of the herein respondent obviously has no legal basis as the police officers have no legal authority,” the petition further read.

A combined force of policemen from the Regional Intelligence Division of the Police Regional Office-7 and soldiers from the Central Command arrested Belamia early morning last November 2 in Dalaguete town for alleged involvement in the mid-north rebel attacks on military outpost in 2004 and 2005 and suspicions he was a former front leader of the New People’s Army.

Marquez earlier said Belamia is the secretary of the Regional White Area Committee, a legal front of the armed wing of the Communist Movement, the NPA.

Marquez also said that Belamia was allegedly involved in the fund-raising activity of the group to be sent to their armed wing in the mountains. The labor leader was also said to be the deputy secretary of the Cebu Island Command and the Front Committee 2 in Cebu of the armed communist rebels and the secretary of the Kumiting Rehiyon sa Sentral Bisayas.

Marquez further said that Belamia was involved in at least five skirmishes involving the 78th Infantry Battalion in the mid-north area from 2002 and 2006 that resulted to the death of soldiers.

Belamia is tagged as one of the “masterminds” in the attack on the 78th IB outpost last December 12, 2002 in Carmen town that killed seven soldiers; the encounter with the 78th IB troops in Tuburan town last September 17, 2003; the encounter with the same army troopers in Danao City last October 11, 2002; the attack on the army outpost in Tuburan town in October 2005 that killed five soldiers; and the encounter in Tabuelan town last year that resulted to the death of NPA leader Gerry Badayos.

Belamia has denied the accusations, claiming that authorities are making up stories. He, however, admitted joining the labor groups as the organizer of a labor union in a glass company in barangay Guadalupe in 1985 and, from then on, joined and organized other labor unions.

Belamia also admitted being a staff member of the National Federation of Labor Union and National Federation of Labor but Marquez said he is a former regional vice chairman of Bayan and Anakbayan.  – Joeberth M. Ocao/BRP