Call for the immediate release of 13 civilians, including a peace consultant of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines

On March 4, 2015, combined elements of the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) simultaneously raided three houses in Quezon City and Caloocan City in the guise of implementing “Oplan Paglalansag”, a campaign of the PNP to go after illegally held firearms. The raid ended up with the arrest of 13 civilians, including a duly-accredited peace consultant of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines.

Arrests in Quezon City: NDFP peace consultant and five others

At around 9:45 p.m. on March 4, 2015, 10 men with long firearms and in fatigue uniforms and blue shirts with “CIDG” printed on the back barged inside a rented house in Quezon City and arrested NDFP Consultant Ruben A. Saluta. Arrested with Saluta was his wife Presentacion Saluta whom he was visiting. Also arrested were four other persons—Alexander Raymund Birondo and his wife Winona Birondo, Ruben Rupido and Joseph Cuevas. Cuevas sub-leased the rooms in the house to save on costs of rent.

The armed men broke the front and back doors as some 40 other armed men took posts outside. The team, headed by a certain Col. J. A. Daza, went upstairs and pointed guns at the occupants. They repeatedly shouted: “Lie down! Do not look at our faces!” While the Saluta and Birondo couples, and Joseph Cuevas were downstairs, some members of the raiding team were on the second floor.

Saluta was bodily searched and seized his sling bag. Inside the bag were his medicines and his JASIG Document of Identification (DI). “Is this real?” the search officer asked. When he answered in the affirmative, the person turned to his superior and said “Sir, this person is a consultant.” Ruben Saluta was questioned in the presence of his wife Presentacion and Alexander Birondo.

Winona Birondo and Joseph Cuevas were asked to accompany members of the raiding team, supposedly to witness the search. It was only at that point the men mentioned having a search warrant, which was not however shown to any of the occupants. The search purportedly yielded several firearms and explosives, which surprised the house occupants who had never seen, knew, or possessed said firearms and explosives. They questioned the results of the search and asserted the items did not belong to them, aside from the fact that it had been more than 30 minutes since the raiding team moved freely around the house without any member of the household.

Ruben Rupido, another sub-lessee, arrived while the raid was on-going. He was on a street near the house when members of the raiding team accosted him. He was brought inside and saw his housemates held at gunpoint.

The raiding team asked Ruben Saluta to sign two lists of alleged items recovered during the search. He signed the first list with items that truly belonged to them. He however refused to sign the second list that included explosives, a rifle, and a .357 magnum.

At around 1:25 a.m. of March 5, Saluta et al were brought to the CIDG office in Camp Crame, Quezon City. Ruben Saluta, Alexander Birondo, Ruben Rupido, and Joseph Cuevas were detained at Anti-Organized Crime Division (AOCD-CIDG) holding cell while Presentacion Saluta and Winona Birondo were detained at the Major-Crimes Investigation Units (MCIU-CIDG) holding cell. At around 1:00-2:00 p.m., their mug shots and fingerprints were taken. All those arrested repeatedly requested for lawyers but were ignored. At around 6:00 or 7:00 p.m. they were brought to the Prosecution Office at the Quezon City Hall of Justice for inquest.

Arrests in Caloocan City: seven other civilians

Those arrested in the two other houses in Caloocan City were: Osias Abad, Emmanuel Bacarra, Rosalia Reboltar-Bacarra, Roy Baldostamo, Manolito Estrella, Emmanuel Villamor, and Monette Alcantara who had no common link except of being independent sub-lessors and sub-lessees of each other. They all underwent similar experience with that of Saluta’s group

Osias Abad, a house caretaker, was watching television when he heard loud banging on the front door. When he opened the door, he saw armed men with guns trained on him shouting, “Lie down! Lie down!” Abad was handcuffed and made to lie down the floor. He was only allowed to sit later when he told the men he has hypertension. He saw several police and soldiers going up and down the stairs.

Abad was shown a list of items such as guns, which the men said they were looking for. Abad told them they would not find any guns in the house as there are none. While Abad was being interrogated, the armed men searched the house. The armed men later said they found a gun. Abad said the gun was not his.

After an hour, Abad saw the members of the barangay tanod. The police forced Abad and the barangay tanod members to sign the list of items supposedly found during the search. Photographs of the barangay tanod with the guns were taken. Abad was placed under arrest because of the guns and explosives purportedly found in the house. He protested, insisting he had no knowledge of the guns and explosives, and asked that he be accorded his right to call a lawyer. He was brought to the CIDG- Anti-Organized Crime Unit office-Camp Crame.

In another house in Solomon St., North Olympus Subdivision, Caloocan City, Emmanuel Bacarra, Rosalia Reboltar-Bacarra, Roy Baldostamo, Manolito Estrella, Emmanuel Villamor, and Monette Alcantara were arrested after a similar raid was conducted by the same unit of police and military.

At around 10:00-10:30 p.m. of March 4, 2015, Baldostamo heard commotion outside the house. When he opened the door, uniformed men with long firearms and bonnets on their faces barged in, pointed their guns at him and ordered him to lie face down. His legs were kicked at by a SAF member when he tried to move them.

The other armed men proceeded to the second floor and entered the room of the Bacarra couple and another room where Villamor and Alcantara were. One of the armed men directly pointed a gun at Bacarra’s head; while Villamor and Alcantara were told to lie down as their hands were cuffed at their backs with plastic wires. The four were then ordered to go to the ground floor as several armed men remained at the second floor.