Eric Jun Casilao is being escorted as he returns to the country via Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Monday, April 17, 2023. Photo from the Philippine Army
DAVAO CITY — The family and lawyers of alleged top-ranking New People’s Army (NPA) leader Eric Jun Casilao are making arrangements to see him in person here as top officials of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) in the region promised to grant him access to lawyers and family members.
“We will not rest until the government, through the CIDG that’s holding him in custody, will open his access to lawyers and his family because today, I was denied access,” former Anakpawis Rep. Ariel Casilao, Eric’s younger brother, said on Monday night.
The former lawmaker said they were arranging with the CIDG in the region to allow Eric, 45, to talk to his lawyers on Tuesday, April 18, and that they expected the government to honor its commitment to respect his legal rights to due process.
“Until he is not turned over to the proper detention facility where his cases would be tried, we are not yet at ease,” he said. He also said he had no idea what his brother’s cases were and which court would try him because he had not seen a copy of the arrest warrants.
READ: Army says alleged top NPA official deported to PH from Malaysia
The former lawmaker likewise said he tried to watch the flights from Kuala Lumpur at the NAIA Terminal 2 on Monday when his brother was supposed to arrive, but he was not allowed to go near him when he arrived.
“Today, they did not give me access to see him but the CIDG later allowed him to talk to his Manila lawyers by phone,” Ariel told the Inquirer by phone on Monday. “Tomorrow, we will arrange for a physical visit from his lawyers in Mindanao.”
“We were denied access at the (NAIA) Terminal 2, where I came to meet him. I only saw him from a distance, but when I negotiated with the police officer, they asked me to get permission from Camp Crame, which was illogical,” Casilao told the Inquirer.
The alleged NPA leader arrived at the NAIA on Monday, April 17, days after being arrested in Langkawi on April 1 and deported by the Malaysian government.
READ: Ex-congressman Casilao says legal rights of arrested brother should be respected
In a statement, the military identified Eric Jun Casilao as the former secretary of the NPA in its Southern Mindanao Revolutionary Committee. He was arrested at Jeti Point International Clearance Gate in Langkawi and was deported two weeks later.
Eric said that the top brass of the CIDG had assured him that they would open his access to family and lawyers.
In a press conference at the CIDG office in Davao City, Lt. Col. Michael John Mangahis, the officer in charge of the CIDG-11, assured that Eric’s lawyers and relatives would be allowed access to Casilao, whose head had a bounty of P5.4 million.
“We will make sure of his safety and security. We will accommodate his lawyers and his family. We will process po na makita din na safe si [Eric] Jun Casilao,” Mangahis said, adding that the office had already coordinated with the Davao City Police Office for the security of Eric.
The CIDG has taken custody of Eric while documents related to his arrest are still being processed.
In a press statement, Eric’s lawyers deplored the police for calling him a terrorist.
“We stand by our client. He has the right to the presumption of innocence. He was not yet found guilty of the crimes imputed to him. Whatever charges are filed against him should still be proven first in court after trial and after giving him the opportunity to be heard. Due process of law must be observed at all times,” they said.
Eric’s legal team is composed of lawyers Jobert Pahilga, Luz Perez and Abegail Joy Aman. They said it was not proper for the police or the government “to parade him in front of the media or the public as if he were already guilty of the cases filed against him, much more of being a terrorist.”
“The PNP should stop the pernicious practice of parading persons or presenting them as trophies to further their counter-insurgency campaign, to the detriment and in violation of the rights of the accused,” they said.
The military said Eric was boarding a ferry on his way to Koh Lipe when members of the joint team of the Philippine law enforcement agencies, the Royal Malaysian police, and Malaysian immigration authorities arrested him.
According to the military, Eric was included in the Malaysian Red Notice List for presenting a passport with a fake identity. Arrest warrants have been issued against Eric for murder, kidnapping, serious illegal detention, and attempted murder cases.
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