NDF slams arrest of ‘peace consultant’

LUCENA CITY –– The communist-led National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) strongly condemned the arrest of peace consultant Esterlita Suaybaguio on Monday.

“Suaybaguio’s arrest is another obstacle to the peace talks which the Duterte regime wants to bury,” Fidel Agcaoili, NDFP chairperson, said in a statement Tuesday.

He claimed that Suaybaguio was covered by the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (Jasig) with Document of Identification Number ND 978447 as the second consultant for Mindanao.

He said a copy of Suaybaguio’s DI was deposited in the safety deposit box under the name of Archbishop Joris A.O.L. Vercammen in Utrecht in the Netherlands.

“The Duterte regime remains on a fascist rampage that adds more and more obstacles to the resumption of the peace negotiations with the NDFP,” Agcaoili said.

State-security operatives arrested Suaybaguio, alleged secretary-general of the Communist Party of the Philippines in Metro Manila during a raid on a condominium building in Quezon City early Monday.

Authorities, armed with search warrants, reportedly recovered a caliber 9mm pistol, a hand grenade, and several documents. /lzb