NPA ‘amazon’ gets life in prison

MANILA, Philippines — An alleged female member of the New People’s Army (NPA) was sentenced to life in prison for illegal possession of firearms and explosives, the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) announced yesterday.

Alexandra Pardilla Pacalda has been tagged by the NTF-ELCAC’s Legal Cooperation Cluster as a “fake human rights defender.”

Pacalda, then 24 years old, surrendered to the military and police in 2019.

She was given a chance to avail herself of the government’s Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program, but she retracted and accused the military of arbitrary detention.

The NTF-ELCAC, in a statement, said the NPA amazon has been convicted of illegal possession of firearms, ammunition and explosives by Lucena City Regional Trial Court Judge Salvador Villarosa Jr.

Pacalda is a member of the communist group pretending to be a human rights defender, according to the NTF-ELCAC.

“She surrendered to authorities only to recant her testimony upon the prodding of human rights group Karapatan and the National Union of People’s Lawyers,” the NTF-ELCAC said.

“It is sad that these so-called human rights defenders left Pacalda to rot in prison, but are bent on scouring for youth to deceive and use as cover for their unlawful acts,” the inter-agency body added.

The NTF-ELCAC said Pacalda’s case is a wakeup call for the youth to “value their lives and families. They should pursue their dreams within the folds of law.”

Pacalda’s case is also an eye opener for legislators so they would not be deceived by House Bill 77 or the Human Rights Defenders Protection Act, which will be abused by terrorist groups to protect themselves from law enforcers, according to NTF-ELCAC.