SolGen wants cancellation of bail of NDF consultants

Solicitor General Jose Calida. Presidential Photo

Solicitor General Jose Calida on Thursday said he will seek the cancellation of the bail bonds posted for the temporary liberty of the consultants of the National Democratic Front (NDF) following the decision of the government to suspend the back-channel talks with the communist movement.

Calida has already instructed his solicitors to file the necessary motions for the cancellation of the NDF consultants’ bail bonds.

“The conditional release granted them by the courts are for the sole purpose of the formal peace negotiations. The conditions are based on the Supreme Court resolution dated 2 August 2016 and not based on JASIG (Joint Agreement on the Security and Immunity Guarantee),” Calida said.

The cancellation of back-channel talks came as the NPA continue its series of attacks against government forces.

Last February when President Rodrigo Duterte also cancelled the peace negotiations due to the killing of three unarmed soldiers in Bukidnon, Calida also said he will ask the Supreme Court (SC) and the regional trial courts where the said NDF consultants are facing various charges to issue recommitment orders to bring them back to detention.

He pointed out that the resolution issued by the SC in August last year imposed conditions for the provisional liberty of the NDF consultants, which he explained were adopted by the concerned RTCs in allowing the release of the said personalities on bail for them to be able to participate in the peace talks.

But Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus Dureza downplayed the recent cancellation of the back-channel talks saying it is just a temporary hitch that could still be resolved by both parties.

Meanwhile, NDFP Legal Counsel Atty. Edre Olalia expressed her disappointment to OSG’s plan. “Another unfortunate knee-jerk hardball reaction that does not solve but aggravates the situation,” she said.

Tinay Palabay of human rights group Karapatan criticized OSG’s move and said that the peace process is continuously being undermined by the government.  Ma. Daphne Crystal Umali, INQUIRER.net trainee / JPV

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