'Morong 38' still in AFP custody

MANILA, Philippines - Thirty-eight members of the “Morong 43” will remain under military custody for now despite a court ruling that ordered their transfer to the Philippine National Police (PNP) Custodial Center at Camp Crame in Quezon City.

Lt. Col. Arnulfo Burgos Jr., Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman, said the PNP has filed a motion for reconsideration, saying it lacks a suitable facility to accommodate the suspected rebels.

He said the suspected guerrillas – who their supporters said were legitimate community health workers – were returned to Camp Capinpin in Tanay, Rizal and will remain there pending the decision of the Morong regional trial court (RTC) on the PNP motion.

“They (PNP) cited their filing of a motion for reconsideration, which cited the conditions of the PNP custodial facility… For now, we have to maintain the status quo,” Burgos said in a press briefing.

Five other members of the “Morong 43” will remain under military custody as they have expressed interest to avail themselves of the government’s social integration program.

Chief Superintendent Rommel Heredia, chief of the PNP Headquarters Support Service, said they could not comply with the court order because the Custodial Center is already overcrowded.

“We cannot comply (with the court order) because it is physically impossible for us to accommodate them,” Heredia said.

“The PNP Custodial Center is already beyond its actual maximum standard capacity,” said Superintendent Cesar Magsino, acting chief of the PNP Custodial Center, adding that the center now houses 140 detainees although it was designed to accommodate only 90.

1Lt. Celeste Frank Sayson, public affairs chief of the Army’s 2nd Infantry Division, however, said they were duty-bound to bring the 38 suspected rebels to Camp Crame even if the court did not act on the PNP motion.

He said the 38 and their military escorts left Camp Capinpin at around 8 a.m. yesterday and reached Camp Crame at around 9:45 a.m. They, however, were compelled to return to Camp Capinpin after the PNP informed them about its pending motion for reconsideration.

“The PNP cannot hold us for sending the 38 to them. We cannot decide (not to transfer the suspects) in behalf of the court,” Sayson said.

Supporters of the suspected insurgents, however, believe that the AFP and the PNP are insincere in heeding the court order.

“It shows that neither the PNP nor the AFP would take responsibility as to who will bear the brunt of the public’s outrage over the continued illegal detention of the health workers,” the Health Alliance for Democracy said in a statement.

Members of the “Morong 43,” the military said, were conducting a seminar on making explosives when they were arrested in a rest house in Morong, Rizal last Feb. 6.  

The justice department has filed charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives and violation of the election gun ban against them.                  – With Cecille Suerte Felipe