One illegal arrest after another were perpetrated this month of December. The US-Marcos regime’s brutal fascist repression spares no one, not even the elderly and the sick.
In Iloilo City, state forces arrested 74-year-old sick Tomas Dominado and his caregiver on December 5, in Barangay Sooc, Arevalo. He was charged with murder and rebellion cases filed a decade ago in court. His caregiver was also charged with illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, terrorism, harboring the primary accused, and obstruction of justice.
Dominado suffered a stroke last year, is bedridden, and relies on his caregiver to move using a wheelchair. He suffers from high blood pressure, heart enlargement, neurological deficits, and other serious medical conditions, which will worsen with his imprisonment.
In Olongapo City, police arrested an elderly on December 7 in Barangay Gordon Heights claiming he was former New People’s Army (NPA) commander Prudencio Calubid. CPP information officer Marco Valbuena said it was not Calubid they arrested, who was abducted and disappeared by military agents in 2006. Clearly, the arrest of the elderly aims to collect the ₱7.8 million bounty on Calubid’s head.
In Quezon, 85th IB soldiers arrested Ronilo Villanueva and another person named “Genero” on December 12 in Barangay Guinhalinan, San Narciso. Soldiers previously shot Villanueva in the foot.
In Negros Occidental, joint military and police forces led by the 79th IB arrested 58-year-old woman Melba Gabriel on December 14, in Sitio Malig-on, Barangay Bandila, Toboso. She is accused of being a key leader of the NPA and was arrested for frustrated murder.
Abduction. The NPA-Sorsogon recently reported the abduction and secret detention of medic Gerald Gestole (Ka Chris). He was abducted on November 17, around 4:30 PM, at a tricycle stop in Barangay Crysanthemum, San Pedro, Laguna.
Shooting. Soldiers of the 94th IB opened fire at farmer Jesse Talaban’s house in his absence at Barangay Buenavista, Himamaylan City on December 12. They also illegally raided and ransacked the house.
Nexperia dismissals. The company dismissed four officials of Nexperia Philippines Inc. Workers’ Union-NAFLU-KMU, including its president, on December 17. The illegal dismissals were in retaliation to the workers filing of a “notice of strike” on December 10, following a year of company delay and deadlock in negotiations for a new CBA. The 1,195 workers voted in favor of the strike on December 20. According to the union, the capitalist used the pretext of “obstructing” the ingress and egress of products from the company’s premises to fire them.
Demolition. On December 10, 47 houses in Dalat, San Roque, Davao City were threatened with demolition. Residents said the threat came from the office of Atty. Elisio Braganza. On that day, local government representatives, particularly from the City Engineering Office, visited the community.
