Government peace officials on Monday night defended the arrest of a
supposed peace consultant of the National Democratic Front of the
Philippines last April 3.
In a statement
posted on its website, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the
Peace Process said Reynante Gamara was arrested by virtue of a warrant
for kidnapping with murder.
"Mr. Gamara’s arrest
on 3 April 2012 was a police action based on an outstanding warrant for
kidnapping with murder (Criminal Cases No. 11-3248 and 11-3249) issued
on 23 March 2012 by Judge Rodolfo D. Obnamia, Jr. of the Regional Trial
Court, Branch 64 in Mauban, Quezon," it said.
Earlier reports said NDFP chief negotiator Luis Jalandoni had accused
the government of violating a peace immunity agreement with the arrest
of Gamara.
Gamara, who was reportedly arrested in Rizal province, is supposedly a campaigner of party-list Bayan Muna.
Jalandoni was quoted as saying that Gamara was a consultant of the NDFP
with an assumed name of Siling Perez, and his arrest violated the Joint
Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG).
But the OPAPP reiterated its position that the JASIG is effectively
"inoperative," as a "logical consequence" of the NDFP’s failure to
comply with the terms of the verification mechanism.
"As such, there is currently no basis to verify if the alleged
consultant Reynante Gamara who used the pseudonym 'Siling Perez' is
supposed to be covered by an immunity guarantee," it said.
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RSJ | GMA News Online | April 17, 2012 | Article Link
