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| Adelberto Silva photo credit to www.anakbayan.org |
Top communist leader captured
A
top leader of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) was captured by
members of the Philippine Army, Cavite police and the Criminal Investigation
and Detection Group (CIDG) on Monday night in Bacoor City, Cavite province.
Adelberto
Silva was arrested along with his wife, Sharon Ronquillo Cabusao, and Isidro de
Lima at 11:10 p.m. in a rented apartment in Barangay (village) Molino 5 by
virtue of a warrant of arrest for 15 counts of murder issued by the Regional
Trial Court Branch 18 of Hilongos, Leyte.
Silva
had been living at his hideout in Bacoor for a year and had posed as a
businessman, according to a police report.
Supt.
Rommel Estolano, Bacoor police chief, said in the report that Silva was a
member of the CPP Central Committee and headed the party’s National
Organization Department.
The
CIDG, in its Twitter account, identified Silva as the secretary general of the
CPP, while a military statement said he was considered the “highest ranking”
leader of the CPP and its armed wing, New People’s Army (NPA).
Low
profile
Brig.
Gen. Joselito Kakilala, the military spokesman, said the low-profile Silva took
over the CPP-NPA leadership after the arrest of CPP chair Benito Tiamzon and
his wife, Wilma Tiamzon, the party’s secretary general, in Cebu province in
March last year.
“He
is the overall orchestrator of rebel movements in the entire country. He
organizes the activities of the rebels,” Kakilala told Agence France-Presse.
“This
(arrest) will have a huge impact. This will disrupt their strategic direction
and programs,” he added.
Longest-running rebellion
The
CPP and the NPA have been waging war against the government for the past 46
years in what has been considered the world’s longest-running Maoist-inspired
rebellion. Talks to end the fighting have stalled.
From
a peak of more than 26,000 in the late 1980s, the NPA strength has dwindled to
4,000 fighters, according to the military.
Gen.
Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr., the Armed Forces chief of staff, was pleased with
the arrests and commended both the military and police teams for the successful
joint operation.
“This
victory against criminality is attributed to the concerted efforts of the
military, Philippine National Police and other stakeholders in our common
pursuit for peace. This accomplishment is for the innocent people who are
victimized by the NPA’s senseless violence,” he said.
Maintenance
medicine
Silva,
who is believed to be “in his 60s and was already taking some maintenance
medicines,” did not resist arrest, said a police source, who requested
anonymity for lack of authority to speak on the case.
“He
denied (he was Silva). But we found several IDs that showed pictures of the
same person,” said the police source.
Recovered
from Silva were three rifle grenades, documents, improvised bomb components and
several electronic devices.
The
authorities conducted an inventory of the seized items in the presence of
village officials.
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On
Tuesday afternoon, Silva and his two companions underwent inquest proceedings
in a court in Bacoor although they will be detained at the PNP headquarters in
Camp Crame in Quezon City.
Good
intelligence work and a little help from neighbors led to the capture of the
highest CPP-NPA leader, said a military source.
The
source, who asked not to be named, told the Inquirer that an informant had
tipped off the military that Silva was renting a house with his wife in Bacoor.
“With
the arrest of the Tiamzon couple in March last year, the military intelligence
started working on their possible successor in the CPP-NPA and it was Silva.
Immediately, surveillance was conducted, which lasted for six months,” the
source said.
Asked
about the impact of Silva’s arrest on the CPP-NPA, the source said the CPP
organizational structure was in disarray with the capture and death of their
top cadres.
Trial
for Leyte killings
Silva
will stand trial for the murder of 15 people whose remains were recovered from
a mass grave in Leyte in 1985, the military said.
Earlier
this month, ranking CPP-NPA leaders were arraigned at the Manila Regional Trial
Court Branch 47 for 15 counts of murder in connection with the killings in
Inopacan, Leyte.
Among
those arraigned were the Tiamzon couple, Satur Ocampo, Vicente Ladlad, Randal
Echanis and Rafael Baylosis.
The
Tiamzons refused to enter pleas at their trial last month for the same
killings, so the court entered “not guilty” pleas on their behalf.
The
killings in Inopacan were allegedly an attempt by the CPP-NPA to purge its
ranks of suspected military “deep penetration agents,” the military said.
The
NPA tried suspected military informants using “kangaroo courts,” leading to the
summary execution of several suspects, including those from Sapang Dako village
in Inopacan town, according to the military.
The
communist rebellion has claimed about 40,000 lives by official estimates.
Talks
stalled
Peace
negotiations have been stalled since 2004, with both parties adamant in pushing
for their respective preconditions before the start of the negotiations.
The
last breakdown of the talks occurred in February 2013.
Last
December, Jose Maria Sison, the CPP founder, said the National Democratic Front
of the Philippines (NDFP) and the Philippine government might resume talks
probably after Pope Francis’ visit to the Philippines in January.
Sison,
who is in exile in the Netherlands, is the chief political consultant of the
NDFP, the political arm of the CPP that had been engaged in peace talks with
the government.
Teresita
Deles, presidential adviser on the peace process, said last December that both
parties were amenable to returning to the negotiating table to end more than
four decades of communist insurgency.
Since
then, nothing has been heard about the resumption of peace talks between the
NDFP and the government.
By
Maricar Cinco Inquirer Southern Luzon and
Cynthia D. Balana in Manila
–With a report from AFP
See the original post of Inquirer.Net
HERE
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The following article is a reprint from Inquirer.Net
Arrest of communist leader ‘illegal’ – human rights group
HUMAN rights group Karapatan blasted the supposed “illegal” arrest of communist leader Adelberto Silva, claiming that he is a peace consultant of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines negotiating with the government.
In a statement, Karapatan said that the arrest was a “serious violation of the signed agreements between the two parties.”
Silva was arrested last Monday in Bacoor by joint security forces. He was said to have taken over the New People’s Army leadership after the arrest of top leaders Benito and Wilma Tiamzon last year.
Cristina Palabay, Karapatan Secretary General said Silva is a holder of the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees. He assumed the name of “Percival Rojo.”
Army spokesperson Lt. Col. Noel Detoyato confirmed that Silva had used the name Percival Rojo in one of his identification cards.
Karapatan said Silva is a consultant of Kilusang Mayo Uno and his wife, Rosanna Cabusao, is a researcher/consultant of the Crispin B. Beltran Resource Center and a founding member of Gabriela.
The arrest of Silva “shows how the GPH continues to undermine the peace process by disregarding the JASIG and the Comprehensive Agreement on the Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) because of the trumped up charges filed against peace consultants,” Palabay said.
There are 16 NDFP consultants arrested and are still detained, Karapatan said.
Armed Forces public affairs office chief Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc said that Silva is facing criminal cases and it was “surprising” that he is identified as a peace consultant.
“They could not prove that they are indeed listed in the JASIG protected personalities as they could not present any evidence to prove his claim,” he said.
The military said Silva has a warrant of arrest for 15 counts of murder. He was also tagged in the Inopacan attack in Leyte, which killed about 400 people in 1985. AC
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