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[av_heading heading=’WHERE’S CONCHA? We’ll arrest NDFP consultant – Army ‘ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=” av-medium-font-size-title=” av-small-font-size-title=” av-mini-font-size-title=” av-medium-font-size=” av-small-font-size=” av-mini-font-size=” admin_preview_bg=”]
BY GLENDA SOLOGASTOA
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ILOILO City – Where is National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) consultant Maria Concepcion “Concha” Araneta Bocala?
The Philippine Army is ready to re-arrest her, said Major General Jon Aying, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division (3ID) based in Jamindan, Capiz.
Bocala, suspected leader of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Panay regional committee, was arrested in August 2015 in Molo district but temporarily released so she could join the peace talks with the government.
Early this month, however, President Rodrigo Duterte said he would order a “mass arrest” of NDFP consultants after cancelling the peace talks.
“If we see her, we will arrest her,” said Aying.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines in Western Visayas is on alert. The CPP is marking its 48th founding anniversary today.
Aying urged the 67-year-old Bocala, whose whereabouts remain unknown, to better return to the fold of the law.
“Sa tagal na niya diyan, nakikita niya naman ang pagbabago ng gobyerno, ang (She has long been in the underground movement. For sure she has seen the changes in government, the) progress and development,” said Aying.
Soldiers under the 3ID are on “active defense”, said Aying. But he stressed any move that would jeopardize peace and order won’t come from government troops.
The military’s Christmas unilateral ceasefire is from 6 p.m. on Dec. 23 to 6 p.m. today, Dec. 26, and from 6 p.m. on Dec. 30 to 6 p.m. on Jan. 2. This is similar to the CPP’s.
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.
Founded on Dec. 26, 1968, the CPP aims to overthrow the government through armed revolution. Its guiding ideology is Marxism-Leninism-Maoism. The NPA is the armed wing of the CPP.
In August 2016, a year after Bocala’s arrest for rebellion and murder charges, three local courts in Aklan, Iloilo and Antique granted the urgent motions for her release on bail.
As consultant of the NDFP for peace talks, she attended the negotiations in Oslo, Norway.
The CPP said Bocala should have been 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 is only for the duration of the peace talks.
Other conditions imposed by the government include 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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