5 of 'Morong 43' refuse to leave Army custody

MANILA, Philippines - Five of the “Morong 43” health workers who were ordered released from detention by the court have refused to leave the protective custody of the Philippine Army (PA).

The five who confessed that they were members of the New People’s Army (NPA) shortly after their arrest last Feb. 6 in Morong, Rizal said they feel safer with their Army custodians than in their respective homes.

Acting Army spokesman and chief of the Army’s public affairs, Col. Daniel Lucero, said that the five self-confessed rebels refused to go with members of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) led by Commissioner Jose Mamawag along with Karapatan members Cristina Palabay and Marie Hilao Enriquez following their meeting at Fort Bonifacio.

One of the mothers of the five, Adoracion Paulino, who joined Mamawag and the Karapatan members, tried but failed to convince her son Valentino to go with their group.

“Mrs. Paulino was in tears as she tried to convince her son to come home, but Valentino, in front of Commissioner Mamawag, cited fear of retaliation from the NPA as one of the primary reasons why he opted to stay inside the military camp at Camp Capinpin, Tanay, Rizal,” Lucero said.

The other four – Cherilyn Tawagon, Eleanor Carandang, Jennyllyn Pizzaro, and John Mark Barrientos – also told Mamawag that it’s their decision to stay and they were not coerced to do so.

Because of this, Mamawag and his party left Fort Bonifacio empty-handed.

Appearing in a television show yesterday, the five reiterated their earlier confession that all of them were active NPA members when they were arrested during a combined military and police raid in Morong.

They also scored Karapatan for being deceptive and manipulative. Carandang even claimed that Karapatan pressured her to refute her claim by taking her child through her relatives.

The five were preparing to return to Camp Capinpin in Tanay, Rizal when Mrs. Paulino, members of CHR and Karapatan chanced upon them at Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City.

The rest of the group who claimed that they were mere health workers undergoing health training in Morong were ordered released two weeks ago by a Morong Regional Trial Court upon the dropping of charges against them by the Department of Justice on instructions of President Aquino.