SC rejects government petition for release of red inmates

MANILA, Philippines - Citing lack of jurisdiction, the Supreme Court denied the government’s motion to temporarily release 11 communist leaders, including the Tiamzon couple, from detention so they could participate in the peace negotiations between the government and the National Democratic Front (NDF) in Oslo, Norway starting August 20.

But Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III, also the chief government peace negotiator, expressed confidence that the 11 would be released in time for the talks.

As this developed, President Duterte slammed the communist rebels anew for their continued attack on soldiers despite the upcoming peace talks.

Bello said the government would comply with the SC ruling stating that the matter should be resolved by the regional trial courts handling their cases.

He added the SC noted the “immediacy” of the issue as it urged the RTCs to act on the petitions that would come their way with dispatch.

The SC affirmed the decision of Manila RTC Branch 32 Judge Thelma Bunyi-Medina granting former Bayan Muna party-list representative Satur Ocampo, Randall Echanis and Vicente Ladlad provisional liberty with corresponding cash bonds so they could join the peace talks as NDF consultants.

The NDF, which Ocampo co-founded, is the political arm of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and New People’s Army (NPA). It serves as the negotiating panel in the peace process with the government.

Denied temporary and conditional liberty were Benito Tiamzon and his wife Wilma, chairman and secretary general of the CPP-NPA, respectively; Tirso Alcantara, Alex Birondo, Winona Birondo, Maria Concepcion Bocala, Reynante Gamara, Alan Jazmines, Ma. Loida Magpatoc and Adelberto Silva. They are all detained at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City.

The SC also refused to provisionally release Rafael Baylosis, another NDF consultant whose P100,000 cash bond was forfeited by the Manila RTC for failing to appear in hearings.

The SC, in its Aug. 2 resolution released yesterday, pointed out the jurisdiction over the cases  “belongs not to this court but in the RTCs hearing the various cases which are now in different stages.”

“To grant temporary and conditional liberty to these personalities may have the inadvertent but irremediable effect of preempting the trial courts’ own determinations in the exercise of their original jurisdiction to try the cases before them,” the SC said.

But the high court also said the RTCs “shall give utmost priority to the hearing of such motions and manifestations in view of the grave importance of peace to the Filipino people.”

“The relevance of the attendance and participation of the other personalities adverted to in the urgent Manifestation and motion to the peace process are matters that must be brought before these courts,” it said.

Government lawyers led by Solicitor General Jose Calida told the high court that all 11 NDF leaders would have a “crucial role” in the peace talks as consultants.

The NDF leaders are facing four different criminal cases, including a multiple murder case involving the killing of 15 suspected government spies in Inopacan, Leyte in 1985 pending with the Manila RTC and where Baylosis and the Tiamzon couple stand accused along with Ocampo, Echanis and Ladlad.

The SC imposed additional conditions for the provisional release of Echanis and Ladlad – that they would join and participate in the government-NDF peace talks for “up to six months” or “as soon as the peace negotiations are concluded or terminated, whichever is earlier” and that their bonds would automatically be cancelled “once their participation ceases” or the talks are terminated.

The high court added their provisional liberty would continue to be secured by their P100,000 cash bonds posted before the SC’s clerk of court and that they should provide their complete contact information in the Philippines and in Norway to the Manila RTC and other interested parties as well as report to the Philippine embassy in Norway whenever required, “and return to the Philippines as soon as the peace talks ended.”

“Considering the risks of escape from the criminal jurisdiction of Philippine courts that would be occasioned by the envisioned travel of petitioners Echanis and Ladlad  to Oslo, Norway, conditions must be additionally imposed to ensure minimization of such risks,” the SC explained.

In the case of Baylosis, the SC said the Manila RTC Branch 32 could reinstate his bond “upon a justifiable cause” and that “any request for his provisional liberty” would be considered “after this threshold condition has been satisfied.”

In its motion, the Office of the Solicitor General explained to the tribunal that President Duterte already ordered the temporary release of the 11 individuals pursuant to the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) that took effect on Feb. 24, 1995 between the government and NDF panels and which granted them safe conduct passes to travel to Oslo.

Rachel Pastores, one of the lawyers for the NDF consultants, lauded the SC in recognizing their role in the peace talks, adding that the “RTCs would rule in such a way that petitions would not undergo tedious processes.”

However, Pastores expressed doubt on the limitations set for the temporary release of Echanis and Ladlad. “It would impact on their free and unhampered participation in the peace process,” she said.

“After six months, what will be their status? Are they going to be brought back to detention?” Pastores asked. “It is difficult to participate (in the peace talks) with apprehensions.”

The Philippine government and the NDF have agreed to reopen the peace negotiations following the election of Duterte. 

The peace talks have been suspended since 2012 after both panels failed to agree on several issues, among them the release of detained communist leaders.

NPA attack

The President said he had to rush home to Davao City yesterday after briefly addressing the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division in Capiz because three soldiers were killed and 11 others wounded in an ambush carried out by the NPA in the hinterlands of Monkayo, Compostela Valley. 

Armed Forces Eastern Mindanao Command (EastMinCom) commander Lt. Gen. Rey Leonardo Guerrero said the casualties and the wounded were brought to Davao City.

Guerrero said the communist rebels also launched two separate attacks against teams of Scout Rangers and Special Forces in Bukidnon.

The President slammed anew CPP founding chairman Jose Maria Sison  as a “humbug” or a braggart and lamented how Sison talks like he has the advantage over the government.

The President lifted the unilateral ceasefire he earlier declared against the leftist rebels during his State of the Nation Address last July 25 after the communist rebels failed to reciprocate the initiative of the Duterte administration. 

“They talk as if they are the ones in power. Akala mo naman sinong magsalita,” the President said.  

Duterte pointed out the communists could not even control a single barangay. 

“The communist rebels are only good in staging ambush but they could not even take control of a village,” he said. 

The President likewise said that the militant groups could not win any election unless they hitched on his wagon, particularly in the south. – With Jose Rodel Clapano, Edith Regalado, Alexis Romero