Wednesday, February 06, 2008 Franco mulls case vs 'coddlers' of rebel leader By Karl G. Ombion
NEGROS Occidental Police Provincial Director Rosendo Franco threatened on Tuesday to file a case of obstruction of justice against militant organizations, whom the suspected CPP-NPA leader Randall Echanis, was arrested in their company last week.
Franco's threat came after he was barraged by accusations by militant organizations that the operations last week made by his intelligence operatives to serve the warrant of arrest on Echanis at the Builders Training Center in Barangay Calumangan, Bago City, was illegal and violative of the rights of the suspect and the people at the conference.
The militants charged that Franco's men came to the conference site allegedly wearing ski-masks and in civilian uniforms, and did not properly identify themselves while attempting to barge in the training compound.
Franco, irked by all sorts of accusations, said it is time to whisk away being always the underdog, maligned and harassed.
"This time, I am studying the possibility of filing a case of obstruction of justice against them, for hiding, obstructing and delaying the arrest of Echanis who is facing multiple cases of murder and kidnapping," Franco averred.
Members of militant organizations led by Karapatan, National Federation of Sugar Workers, Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas and Gabriela, in a picket they staged in front of Noppo headquarters Tuesday, belittled Franco's threat and instead accused him of violating the rights of Echanis and participants to the conference.
The protesters, numbering around a hundred, reiterated their accusations that the arrest of Echanis was illegal, that Noppo operatives staged a highly questionable operations in serving the warrant, and the warrant itself was fraught with trumped up charges.
They insisted that Echanis was the national deputy Secretary General of KMP, and not as CPP-NPA leader as stated in the warrant of arrest.
They also charged that Echanis was the first victim of renewed campaign of terror of the Arroyo administration against legitimate dissent in the country.
They also demanded that Echanis, who is now detained in Leyte waiting for arraignment of cases against him, be released immediately and unconditionally.
Franco countered that if the militants have questions on the warrant of arrest, they should complain to the court, not to him.
