KASIBU, Nueva Vizcaya—The Cagayan Valley chapter of the human rights group Karapatan has assailed the arrest of five members of an environmental activist group at a checkpoint in Barangay Mabuslo of Bambang town last Friday.
Arrested and now detained at the Bambang Police Station were Vicente Ollagon, 40; Joshua Hiquiana, 15; Ferdinand Pakiwon, 55; Marilyn Lango, 30, all residents of Barangay Bilet of this town; and Jogiemar Wayas, 18, of Barangay La Torre, Bayombong town.
They are members of the Kasibu Inter-Tribal Response for Ecological Development (Kired) and Samahang Pangkarapatan ng Katutubong Magsasaka at Manggagawa, Inc., Karapatan claimed.
“[They] were illegally arrested and charged with trumped up cases of Illegal Posession of Explosives and Ammunitions and Illegal Possession of Firearms,” the group said.
Lawyer Fidel Santos visited the group at the Bambang detention center to provide necessary legal assistance, as Karapatan said one of those arrested was a minor.
“They are members of the Kasibu Inter-Tribal Response for Ecological Development (KIRED) and Samahang Pangkarapatan ng Katutubong Magsasaka at Manggagawa, Inc (SAPAKKMMI),” the group claimed.
Military operations here intensified after the September 1st clash with the communist New People’s Army (NPA) left four (4) soldiers dead.
A second encounter that took place in the boundary of Dupax del Sur, Nueva Vizcaya and Carranglan, Nueva Ecija on September 20 led to the death of an NPA leader known as Ka Razul and 8 others.