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Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Communist group 'extorted' P250T from firm
By Mia E. Abellana
With Jujemay G. Awit
CEBU CITY -- The Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (CPP-NPA) needs funds reportedly to counter the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit in December.
This is according to information police have learned from two suspected rebel leaders arrested in Talisay City last Friday.
Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) 7 Regional Officer Jose Jorge Corpuz told a news conference that the communist party engaged in massive extortion activities to gain funds for the event.
So far, they have identified 18 businesses that were targeted by communists in their demands for "revolutionary taxes."
They reportedly planned to hold an Asia-Pacific Conference International League of People's Front about the same time as the Asean summit "to embarrass the government."
Sharon Abangan, 33, and Gerald Lavadia, 34, were arrested in an entrapment at the South Central Market in Talisay City after allegedly extorting P250,000 cash and a brand new laptop computer from Taiheiyo Cement Phils. Inc. based in San Fernando town in the south.
They were allegedly in possession of two .45 pistols and a fragmentation grenade.
Lavadia, who is also known as Ka Renard and Ka Niko, is reportedly the secretary of the Central Visayas Regional Party Committee's education and propaganda commission while Abangan, who goes by the names Ka Edwin and Ka Alijer, allegedly headed the NPA's Sparrow Unit.
Gagged
Both men were barred from speaking to the media though Lavadia clearly struggled with his guards and tried to raise his arms in the air.
Militant group Karapatan Central Visayas denied they were rebels and claimed that Lavadia was an organizer for the Erap Resign Movement and a member of Kilusang Mayo Uno while Abangan is a member of the Panaghiusa sa mga Gagmay'ng Mananagat sa Sugbo.
Police officials said, though, that both cooperated in the investigation and named their members and other extortion victims.
Charged
Four charges were filed Monday against Lavadia and Abangan: rebellion, robbery with intimidation and illegal possession of firearms for both suspects and an additional charge of illegal possession of explosives against Lavadia.
The Talisay City Prosecutor's Office recommended no bail for the rebellion charge.
The charge for illegal possession of explosives carried a bail of P200,000; robbery with intimidation, P100,000 each; and illegal possession of firearms, P80,000 each.
The cases were filed after office hours at the Palace of Justice.
Before the charges were filed, Abangan's father Esmeraldo, through lawyer Alfonso Cinco, filed a petition for habeas corpus claiming that police authorities held Sharon "incommunicado."
Esmeraldo tried to visit his son at the Camp Sotero Cabahug in Cebu but police told him that his son was still under investigation.
But even before Regional Trial Court Judge Gilbert Moises could rule on the petition, the CIDG 7 presented Abangan and Lavadia in a press conference.
Capitol tightened its security as militant groups held a rally Monday in relation to the arrest of two suspected rebels.
Capitol consultant on security Byron Garcia said some members of the militant groups gathered in front of the IBP building before the filing of habeas corpus petition but they were able to block the road leading to the Palace of Justice.
Garcia also ordered closed the three gates of the Capitol compound and Civil Security Unit.
But some of the rallyists were allowed to enter during the filing of the habeas corpus petition.
Abangan's father Esmeraldo said he doesn't believe his son is engaged in rebellious activities.
Esmeraldo said Sharon was at the South Central Market in Barangay Tabunok when he was arrested because he was buying bibingka (rice cake) for his wife to sell at the terminal.
Sharon refused to issue statements when they were taken to court.
Lavadia, however, admitted in an interview with dyLA that he is a member of the CPP-NPA. But he refused to divulge details.
He initially denied extorting money from business establishments in Cebu. Later though, he merely refused to go into details.
Dennis Abarrientos of Karapatan-Central Visayas described yesterday's presentation of Lavadia and Abangan as mere justifications of the law enforcers' illegal arrest of his colleagues.
But CIDG Chief Corpuz said the CPP-NPA plan was to fund the conference and invite international personalities sympathetic to their cause.
At the conference, issues would also be raised to these foreign personalities in hopes of getting rid of the terrorist tag and gain funds for them to run for positions in the coming elections.
As this was going on, Corpuz said their armed component also planned to "create havoc" during the Asean summit while other members were supposed to conduct mass actions.
The group also planned to liquidate four personalities. They called this "partisan operations."
Police declined to disclose the identities of these personalities, but assured the four were already informed of the plan.
Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Bureau Chief Pablo Labra II said that for this quarter, they received three extortion complaints from legitimate businesses.
Of the three letters, Labra said only one showed indications that the communist movement was behind it.
Police and military officials urged the business sector to condemn, not condone, the NPA's extortion activities.
Regional Intelligence and Investigation Division Chief Augusto Marquez said the rebels need P1.4 million a month to operate a regional party committee.
With their funds ordered frozen as a result of their inclusion into the list of terrorist groups, Marquez said they cannot access more than US $700 million in funds for their projects.
Senior Superintendent Vicente Loot, Cebu Provincial Police Office director, said that with the recent development, he hopes more companies will come out and cooperate with authorities in putting a stop to the rebel's extortion activities. (With RCT/MBG of Sun.Star Cebu)
(September 5, 2006 issue)
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