Relatives of freed red leader arrested
SAN PEDRO CITY—The wife and a nephew of a former political detainee were arrested in Occidental Mindoro, months after the ex-detainee’s release from prison on conditional pardon issued by President Duterte.
Dolores Solangon, a farmer from Abra de Ilog town, was arrested at her home in the village of Balao on Thursday evening. Also arrested was Solangon’s nephew, Jun-jun Carandang.
Senior Supt. Romie Estepa, police director of Occidental Mindoro, on Friday confirmed the arrests which he said was covered by a warrant issued in October 2008 by Judge Ulysses D. Delgado of the Regional Trial Court Branch 44 in Mamburao, Occidental Mindoro.
Murder
Solangon and Carandang were charged with murder and the use of unlicensed firearms.
In a phone interview on Friday, Ren Manalo of the women’s group Gabriela-Mindoro denounced the arrests saying Solangon and Carandang
were victims of trumped-up charges.
Carandang, according to Manalo, would only be 10 years old at the time being cited in the case.
Solangon was a farmer whose husband, Ricardo, was among 10 political prisoners given unconditional pardon by Mr. Duterte and released from the New Bilibid Prison in July.
Police chief Estepa said the cases against Solangon and Carandang were now in the jurisdiction of the court.
Others wanted
Estepa claimed that Solangon and Carandang were members of New People’s Army, the armed wing of Communist Party of the Philippines which thrives in areas wracked by land conflicts and injustice.
The warrant served on Solangon and Carandang also listed six other persons, among them National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) consultant Tirso
Alcantara.
Alcantara was among 21 NDFP consultants earlier released from jail to participate in peace talks brokered by Norway.
Mr. Duterte had ordered the recapture of NDFP leaders who took part in peace negotiations with government representatives.
The President said the rebel leaders had ceased to be covered by immunity from arrest as he had already canceled the talks.
