MANILA, Philippines — Eric Jun Casilao, whom the Army has accused of being a New People's Army leader, was brought back to the Philippines on Monday from Malaysia where he was arrested.
Police and immigration officials said at a streamed press conference that Casilao managed to leave the country last year under an assumed name but gave few other details.
"We are still establishing the facts — whether this fictitious name is a real person or not — but definitely he assumed a different identity in that passport," Police Maj. Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr., director for intelligence, said Monday afternoon. He said Casilao has around nine warrants for his arrest on different cases "ranging from murder, to serious illegal detention and kidnapping."
Casilao is the brother of former Rep. Ariel "Ayik" Casilao (Anakpawis party-list) who, earlier Monday, called on Malaysian and Philippine authorities to ensure Eric Jun's safety and basic rights.
Casilao's lawyers have rejected the allegation that their client is a communist rebel.
Genuine passport, fictitious name
Immigration deputy spokesperson Melvin Mabulac said in the same press conference that Casilao left the country last year with a "genuinely-issued passport" and that how he managed to get a legitimate passport under a fake name will be part of an investigation.
He said that immigration officers who let Casilao leave the country would not be held accountable since "they saw that the passport was genuine and that the name was not on the 'derogatory' list, so the standard operating procedure was followed." A "derogatory" record would prompt immigration officers to delay a traveler's departure or have them offloaded from a flight.
"So far, we have no information on whether he had help leaving the country and what will be part of the investigation," he also said in Filipino.
Accorda said the investigation will also look into why the passport was not flagged. "There should have been an alarm because of the biometrics at the counter," he said.
Casilao's lawyers, meanwhile, rejected the allegation that their client is a high-ranking member of the Communist Party of the Philippines or of the New People's Army.
"We stand by our client. He is not a terrorist. He has the right to the presumption of innocence. He was not yet found guilty of the crimes imputed to him. Whatever maybe are the charges filed against him should still be proven first in court after trial, and after giving him the opportunity to be heard. Due process of law must be observed at all times," Casilao's counsel led by lawyer Jobert Pahilga said in a statement.
They added it was improper for the Philippine National Police to parade their client before the media.
"What the PNP did [was] put our client to unwanted attack against his person and his family, exposing them to grave dangers of enforced disappearance, extrajudicial killings, ridicule and contempt," they also said.
ABS-CBN News also quotes former Rep. Casilao rejecting the accusations. "Many people will be able to tell you who Eric Jun Casilao is. It is far different from [how] the AFP and PNP is describing him," he said in a mix of English and Filipino.
In response, Acorda said: "Well, with regard to that comment: We are implementing the warrant of arrest and court orders...they can always prove that in court."
Alleged rebel leader
According to the Army's 10th Infantry Division, Eric Jun Casilao is a top-ranking NPA leader of the Southern Mindanao Regional Committee and is accused of killing and burying a fellow rebel fighter in a remote village in New Bataan, Davao de Oro in April 2022.
The accusation is based on a statement by an unnamed supposed former rebel who surrendered to the government that month.
According to state-run Philippine News Agency, Casilao also faces cases of murder, kidnapping and serious illegal detention. — Jonathan de Santos