NPA rebels free ComVal warden

TAGUM CITY—Communist guerrillas on Monday afternoon freed the provincial jail warden of Compostela Valley almost a month after his abduction.

Jose Mervin Coquilla was fetched by Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte after he was handed over by his New People’s Army (NPA) captors in the hinterlands of Compostela Valley past 2 p.m., according to the warden’s older brother, Tagum Councilor Agripino Coquilla.

“Of course, we’re very elated and relieved that he is now with us,” Councilor Coquilla told the Inquirer by mobile phone.

The warden’s release came days after Duterte, head of the Southern Mindanao regional peace and development council, demanded that the jail official be freed within 72 hours, as the official’s family and local authorities in Compostela Valley also sought the mayor’s help.

Coquilla’s release came as the government and the rebels were observing separately declared ceasefire in connection to the visit of Pope Francis in the country that ended yesterday.

In a statement, Rubi del Mundo, spokesperson of the communist-led National Democratic Front–Southern Mindanao, said the rebels “suspended the judicial proceedings against Coquilla as a humanitarian act in response to the pleas of his family and representatives from the government and well-meaning individuals, and as a gesture of compassion and mercy—a message that is reverberating in the country with the recent visit of Pope Francis.”

“The release of respondent Coquilla, however, does not preclude the revolutionary forces from subjecting him to future arrest and detention if the masses file new charges against him and if he is found to be unremorseful,” Del Mundo added.

Coquilla, who celebrated his 44th birthday in captivity on Sunday, was abducted on Dec. 23 outside his house in Panabo City in Davao del Norte province, as he and wife

Lijobeth were preparing to hear Mass.

He has been a jail officer for 16 years and heads the Compostela Valley provincial rehabilitation center in Mankilam, Tagum City.

Among the facility’s 480-plus inmates are a handful of NPA leaders who are facing various criminal offenses.

Aris Francisco, an NPA subregional spokesperson, said Coquilla was arrested following complaints of corruption and illegal drugs trade inside the jail facility, accusations his family and local authorities have vehemently denied.