LUCENA CITY, Quezon, Philippines — An affidavit released by the military said a rights activist now in government custody admitted being a member of the New People’s Army (NPA) and surrendering because she wanted to “live a normal life” in a case that appeared to support a rant made by President Rodrigo Duterte about supposedly communist fronts.
The affidavit, signed by Alexandrea Pacalda, also a former campus journalist, was executed on Sept. 17 and notarized by lawyer Meyrick Andrew Osena in the town of Lopez, Quezon province.
A copy of her affidavit was sent to the Inquirer on Wednesday, September 18, by Capt. Benedick Alfonso Cagatin, a civil-military officer of the Army’s 201st Infantry Brigade based in Calauag, Quezon.
The affidavit said Pacalda confessed to being an NPA member “freely and voluntarily without being forced, threatened, harassed, coerced, and/or promised of (sic) any form of reward.”
She said she turned herself in to soldiers from the 85th Infantry Battalion and policemen in General Luna on Sept. 15. She also surrendered a revolver with six bullets.
Pacalda admitted she was a “political officer” of NPA and adopted the alias Cossette/Cris.
According to her affidavit, Pacalda belonged to the NPA unit operating in the Bondoc Peninsula.
She also named Cecilia Modia alias “Mitch,” Philip Enteria alias “Cyrus,” and one “Darwin” as her recruiters to the rebel movement in 2017.
The affidavit said Pacalda “realized the futility of our struggle and I decided to leave the organization but could not just find the right opportunity to do so.”
Pacalda said her fear of retaliation by her comrades prompted her to seek safety and protection in military hands.
The human rights group Karapatan and other leftist groups have been demanding the immediate release of Pacalda.
The group claimed that she was being held against her will and without any charge.
Karapatan said Pacalda was an active member of the College Editors Guild of the Philippines and Gabriela Youth.
Duterte ended talks with the rebels and ordered an all-out war that also targets what he said were communist sympathizers and supporters. Since that order, lawyers, members of leftist organizations and militant activists had been killed in assassinations being blamed on the government. Delfin T. Mallari Jr./TSB