Lawmakers seek probe of activist’s arrest in N. Vizcaya

Isabelo Adviento —PHOTO FROM DANGGAYAN CAGAYAN VALLEY FACEBOOK

BAGUIO CITY, Benguet, Philippines —The Makabayan bloc in Congress is seeking an inquiry into the arrest of an Anakpawis party-list nominee in Nueva Vizcaya province over unlicensed firearms allegedly seized in a 2020 police raid on his house in Cagayan province.

Describing the charges against farmer leader Isabelo “Bunting” Adviento as “fabricated,” the lawmakers filed House Resolution No. 2555 on April 15 to determine if the arrest carried out on April 8 was intended to disrupt Anakpawis’ electoral campaign.

Adviento was arrested at a fast food restaurant in Bayombong town. He was charged with possession of illegal firearms taken in the Dec. 2, 2020, raid on his Baggao town house, which the lawmakers said was illegal.

Adviento, chair of Danggayan dagiti Mannalon ti Cagayan Valley, was out joining relief operations for typhoon victims when members of the police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and soldiers broke into his home, triggering a “Hands off Adviento” campaign launched by the opposition.

“The arrest of [Adviento], along with numerous cases of harassment against volunteers, activists and progressives at the height of the campaign season, is highly condemnable,” read HR 2555.

—VINCENT CABREZA

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