43 arrested NPA suspects presented before Court of Appeals

MANILA, Philippines - The 43 health workers who were arrested on suspicion of being communist rebels were presented before the Court of Appeals (CA) yesterday in a habeas corpus hearing.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) complied with the Court order and then sought the dismissal of the habeas corpus petition filed by relatives of the health workers, arguing that the arrests conducted last Feb. 6 were lawful.

In a 17-page petition filed last Feb. 9, relatives of the workers asked the High Court to issue a writ of habeas corpus and order the AFP and the Philippine National Police (PNP) to present the arrested health workers before the Court and eventually release them.

Through Assistant Solicitor General Renan Ramos, the AFP said the 43 were arrested for possession of several hand grenades, improvised explosive sticks and other explosive devices while allegedly holding a bomb-making workshop.

Ramos argued before the special first division of the appellate court that the petition seeking release of the health workers should be dropped since privileges under writ of habeas corpus no longer apply to detainees who are already charged in court.

“Once a person detained is duly charged in court, he may no longer question his detention through a petition for issuance of a writ of habeas corpus. His remedy would be to quash the information and/or warrant of arrested duly issued,” he explained, citing Section 4 Rule 102 of the Rules of Court.

With this argument, Ramos asked the CA division chaired by Acting Presiding Justice Portia Hormachuelos to terminate the proceedings since the AFP has already complied with the order of the High Court to present the detainees and justify their detention.

But the head counsel for relatives of the detainees, lawyer Romeo Capulong, immediately contested the position of the government counsel and insisted that the arrests of the 43 persons were illegal.

He presented before the appeals court one of the arrested doctors, Alexis Montes, who testified that they were denied constitutional rights, including right to counsel, and subjected to torture.

Montes said he has been held in solitary confinement and was “pushed” by the interrogator whenever the latter did not like his answers.

Capulong argued that the CA, in resolving the habeas corpus petition, should look at every phase and aspect of the arrests, citing a Supreme Court ruling in Umil vs. Ramos.

The government counsel objected and said these issues and evidence should be tackled in trial court and not in the CA.

But Justice Hormachuelos ruled that the “presentation of evidence in the (habeas corpus) case may go into the merits of the criminal case (in RTC).”

“There will be many testimonies, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that we will consider all of them. You should trust us - that we know how to separate the chaff from the grain,” she said in open court.

So the court gave the petitioners until 5 p.m. Wednesday to submit affidavits of the 42 other detainees, but it will rule on whether or not the health workers should be released.

The CA is also expected to resolve the prayer of petitioners seeking transfer of the 43 arrested workers from Camp Capinpin in Rizal to the PNP headquarters in Camp Crame, Quezon City.

Not molested

In yesterday’s hearing, one of the detainees also denied a headline report quoting her accusing military handlers of “sexual molestation.”

“May iba’t ibang accounts kasi kami. But generally, ok naman ang pagtrato sa amin (We have different accounts, but generally we were treated okay),” Jane Balleta, 27, told reporters inside the courtroom.

She made no mention of sexual molestation but revealed that she “underwent pressure and threats.”

Sen. Pia Cayetano, chair of the Senate committee on social justice, welfare and rural development, attended the hearing and told reporters that she also saw no sign of sexual molestation of the 26 women when she visited them last week.

“None of them confirmed sexual harassment. They told me they were blindfolded and handcuffed when brought to the comfort room, and then their private parts were touched. I think there may be no personal intention to sexually harm them, but a crossing of the line against their privacy and dignity,” she explained.

She said they only experienced psychological torture by the military.

The senator said AFP officials told her that it was the first time that they handled such a big number of detained alleged NPA members.

Cayetano, who is seeking re-election in May under Nacionalista Party, said she would consider this issue in future legislative proposals.

The military dismissed as mere “propaganda” allegations that the female suspects arrested during the Morong raid were sexually molested by soldiers.

Maj. Gen. Jorge Segovia, chief of the Philippine Army’s 2nd Infantry Division, said the accusation made by Ofelia Beltran Balleta, mother of one of the detained suspects, was meant to discredit their operation against communist insurgents.

“There is no truth to the allegations that there were physical abuses, or sexual harassment. But because of the success of the operation, we expect that we will be receiving such allegations everyday,” he said in a press briefing in Camp Aguinaldo yesterday.

Segovia said male soldiers were strictly barred from having physical contact with female detainees. 

“We (officers) supervised the custody (of the suspects) from the very start. All male detainees were assigned male assistants while female detainees were assigned female assistants,” he said.

Segovia said critics of the Morong raid are laying a “groundwork for future actions” intended to harm the reputation of the military.  – With Sheila Crisostomo, Marvin Sy and Alexis Romero