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BY RUBY P. SILUBRICO
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February 6, 2018
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Police, military don’t know where NDFP consultant is
ILOILO City – The Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6) is ready to re-arrest Maria Concepcion “Concha” Araneta Bocala, Ilongga consultant of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP).
But it has yet to receive an order from the courts to apprehend Bocala, 67, said Superintendent Gilbert Gorero, PRO-6 spokesperson.
Bocala, suspected leader of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Panay regional committee, faces criminal charges in four courts in this city, Aklan and Antique provinces. She was allowed to post bail in August 2016 so she could join the peace talks that resumed in Oslo, Norway.
Late last year, however, the Duterte government terminated the peace talks and ordered the arrest of NDFP officials and consultants facing charges in various courts.
“We have no warrants of arrest for Bocala yet. The issuing courts have not reissued them,” said Gorero.
The police also have no idea of Bocala’s current whereabouts.
“We have to follow legal procedures. We have to respect the constitutional rights of every person. If there is an arrest warrant we will arrest her,” said Gorero.
On Jan. 31, security forces arrested Bocala’s fellow NDFP consultant Rafael Baylosis in Quezon City. He was the first to fall since the peace talks’ termination.
Operatives of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and the Philippine Army’s 3rd Infantry Division cornered Bocala on Aug. 1, 2015 in a rented house at Juntado Subdivision, Barangay Calumpang, Molo district.
She had a bounty of P7.8 million, based on the joint Reward List No. 14-2012 of the Department of National Defense and Department of Interior and Local Government dated Nov. 12, 2012.
The CIDG and the Philippine Army’s 3rd Infantry Division (3ID) recovered at least P200,000 cash, a grenade, a .45 caliber pistol, a .22 caliber revolver, ammunition, a laptop computer, 13 mobile phones, computer hard drives, compact and floppy discs, and a pair of binoculars from the house.
While the PRO-6 was waiting for the arrest warrants, the 3ID, on the other hand, confirmed to be actively looking for Bocala.
According to Captain Eduardo Prescioso, 3ID spokesperson, “We are not sure if she is still in Panay but we continue to look for her.”
In the early 1970s, Bocala was a student activist at the University of the Philippines in Diliman. When martial law was declared, she joined the New People’s Army (NPA) to fight the Marcos dictatorship.
The CPP said Bocala should be immune from arrest as she is protected by the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (Jasig).
Signed by both parties in 1995, Jasig provides immunity from arrest and other forms of harassment to all participants in the peace talks.
The temporary liberty of NDFP consultants was only for the duration of the peace talks.
Other conditions imposed by the government included returning to the Philippines after the formal peace negotiations in Oslo and reporting to the Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines in Norway whenever required.
The government also maintains that once the participation of the NDFP consultants ceases or the peace negotiations are terminated, their respective bail bonds shall be automatically cancelled./PN
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