‘Convicted NDF consultant not covered by immunity pact’

MANILA, Philippines - The Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) does not cover a consultant of the National Democratic Front (NDF) who was recently sentenced to 40 years in prison for illegal possession of firearms and explosives, according to the government peace panel.

In a statement issued on Friday, the government panel led by Alexander Padilla disputed the claim of the human rights group Karapatan that Eduardo Sarmiento is included in the JASIG lists submitted by the NDF to the government panel in 2001 and 2004.

“The NDF claimed that Eduardo Sarmiento is in the 2001 JASIG list carrying the assumed name of Leah Samar. However, his release is subject to the conditions agreed upon by the (government) and NDF in the Oslo Joint Statement signed on 21 February 2011,” the statement read.

The government panel noted that the required verification process to confirm the identities of NDF members using assumed names, including Sarmiento, failed.

“In July 2011 representative of both panels met in the Netherlands, together with the Norwegian third party facilitator and the Archbishop of Utrecht, to verify if the NDF’s detained alleged consultants were indeed JASIG-covered. They agreed to open a sealed envelope stored in a safety deposit box by the parties in 2003. The envelope was supposed to hold the photos and real names of NDF consultants using aliases. But upon opening, the envelope did not contain actual photos but only diskettes which the NDF claimed to have contained the photos. However, the NDF could not decrypt the diskettes,” the government panel said.

The government panel said the failure of the verification process due to the NDF’s non-compliance with its requirements has rendered the JASIG inoperative for those using assumed names and aliases.

It said JASIG remains effective only for those NDF personalities using real names, including those who have been recognized by the government as involved in the peace negotiations.