Prayers for Peace was held in the province yesterday led by Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson and the leadership of the Philippine Army and the PNP in the province.
"Right now we live in a world where the prospect of peace seems distant and obscure. Yet Jesus promises he will give us peace. And as we wait, let us sow the seeds of peace," Lacson said during the activity held at the Provincial Capitol Lagoon and Park.
A peace caravan was also held.
The prayer for peace and rally is relevant to the observance of the Holy Week.
At the press conference that followed, Col. Michael Samson, Acting Commander of the 303rd Infantry Brigade said they presented Aiza of Escalante City as proof that as part of their call for peace and justice they would like to put face on the case presented that threat is real that there is a witness that could testify.
Aiza is an alleged former member of a progressive group in Negros Occidental.
Atty. Ranela dela Fuente, City Prosecutor of Escalante said Aiza Gamao, a former member of the Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap or Kadamay, expressed her willingness to turn state witness against her former group.
Gamao was one of eight suspected communist insurgents, who were arrested on September 18, 2019 in Escalante City for charges of illegal possession of firearms, and explosives in the city's Barangay Jonob-jonob.
According to Dela Fuente, after a year of detention, Gamao expressed her desire to tell and to testify for the government, thinking that "the cause that she was fighting for was not for the common good; and that her group's doctrine was not meant to bring peace and change, but destruction and unrest."
Atty. Charo Tupas-Fajardo, Gamao's legal counsel, said her client had already executed an affidavit against her former group expressing her intentions, although as of the moment the affidavits cannot yet be publicized as she was not yet presented to the court.
When asked if Gamao's former colleagues will claim that the government forced her to switch sides, Dela Fuente replied that they are already expecting them to make the claims, as prior to her decision she had been repeatedly told by her former colleagues not to pursue her plans.
Because of this, Dela Fuente said Gamao's life may also be in danger and it is the reason why they wanted to publicize her issue to the local media in order to protect her and her family.
"Prosecuting cases involving communists is difficult to do due to the lack of witnesses," Dela Fuente pointed out. "As a matter of fact the prosecution of criminal cases involving communist terrorists in northern Negros has a very dismal record."
Dela Fuente said most of the cases were dismissed due to lack of witnesses. When Gamao came out and expressed her desire in favor of the government, it is a breakthrough for the prosecution and so they wanted to protect her from all harm and let her testify.
Fajardo also showed an audio visual statement of Gamao, wherein she stated that her decision was her own volition and that she was not coerced by anyone.
Depending on her affidavits, the court may place Gamao under witness protection program.
Back in 2019, Gamao, who was then an officer of Kadamay-Negros, was arrested in a police checkpoint in Barangay Jonob-jonob, Escalante City after cops seized six .45 caliber pistols, a .38 caliber revolver, a KG9 machine pistol, three rifle grenades, two improvised explosive devices, and 21 molotov cocktails.
The group initially claimed back then that the firearms and explosives in their vehicle were planted by police. The incident also occurred two-days prior to the city's observance of the anniversary of the Escalante City Massacre. (TDE)