100 rally behind 3 jailed fishermen in Bataan

ORION, Bataan—At least 100 fishermen staged a rally in front of the municipal hall here to protest the arrest and detention of three fellow fishermen for grave slander.

Derek Cabe, coordinator of the militant group Kilusan Bataan, said Elizabeth Rosema, 29; Chantal Maro, 21; and Sally Maro, 42, were arrested and detained at the Orion custodial facility.

Cabe said the three fishermen, who are members of Capunitan Fisherfolks Association, were among the survivors of a fire that displaced more than 1,000 residents in a coastal village here last January.

According to Cabe, the three fishermen were involved in a verbal tussle with policemen and village watchmen who have been barring residents from returning to the site of their burnt homes.

Orion Mayor Antonio Raymundo said he and the provincial government would build new homes in another village for the fire victims with the help of the National Housing Authority.

Cabe said the fishermen refused to sign a waiver from the local government that offered them cash if they would leave the town and return to their home provinces in the Visayas. GREG REFRACCION (Editor: Tony Bergonia)