Ex-NPA in Balweg slay acquitted; not yet free

‘Charges filed due to P5.9M bounty’

BANGUED, Abra — After 11 months of detention, the murder case filed against Eduardo Esteban for the death of Fr. Conrado Balweg was dismissed under the Justice on Wheels Program of the Supreme Court on June 19.

But Esteban, a 60-year-old cancer survivor is still far from being free as he has still to face 12 other charges that include four counts of murder, five counts frustrated murder, a robbery and one case each for arson and rebellion associated with seven incidents of armed encounters between the New People’s Army and Armed Forces of the Philippines filed in various courts in Ilocos Sur, Abra and Mountain Province.

In ruling dismissal of the charge filed against “Esteban Manuel” amended to “Eduardo Esteban,” Judge Corpus B. Alzate of the Abra Regional Court cited a Supreme Court ruling in 2008 that mere presence in an incident nor knowledge of a plan does not account to commission of the act.

The decision said it is the practice of AFP and Philippine National Police of filing complaints with several John and Jane Does to the effect of making a mockery of justice. Four other respondents in the charge sheet were earlier acquitted by the same judge.

The NPA publicly acknowledged executing Fr. Conrado Balweg in December 31, 1999 for “crimes against the people.”

Balweg was a Roman Catholic priest who joined the NPA during the struggle of the Tingguians against the planned logging on thousands of hectares of pine forest in the Cordillera during the reign of Ferdinand Marcos.

Some years later, in 1986, Balweg bolted out from the NPA and with some NPA members, he formed the Cordillera Peoples Liberation Army (CPLA).

Esteban was arrested in his house in Jaro, Iloilo in August 5, 2014 by a team of AFP and PNP officers using a warrant of arrest that named a certain “Esteban Manuel.”

He was since then been detained at the provincial jail in Bangued.

A few days after his arrest, the Communist Party of the Philippines released a statement acknowledging that Eduardo

Esteban “was once part of the revolutionary machinery of the CPP… but personal circumstances made him choose to retire around ten years ago.”

The CPP statement said Esteban was “never part… nor a leading cadre of the Ilocos Cordillera Region of the CPP.”
In an earlier statement, the national human rights organization – Karapatan disclosed the AFP-PNP team was awarded P5.9M for arresting Esteban.

Esteban confirmed the arresting team deliberated apportionment of the million bounty in his presence.

He said he is Eduardo Almores Esteban and not “Esteban Manuel.”

He has three children and two grandchildren. He is a cancer survivor now age 60.

He left the revolutionary movement because of his health condition.

Since then, he has been residing in Jaro, operating a variety store for his livelihood.

His first time to set foot in the Cordillera was when he was taken by his arresting team to Camp Dangwa shortly after his arrest and before he was detained in Bangued, Abra. He never set foot in the Ilocos region.

Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala, chief of the AFP Public Affairs Office in an earlier news report claimed “Eduardo Esteban” to be the same as “Esteban Manuel,” who is claimed to be the former secretary of the Ilocos Cordillera regional committee of the CPP.

Esteban will be transferred to the Bucay, Abra where the charges on two counts of murder and two counts of frustrated murder related to three incidents of armed encounters between the AFP and NPA in Tubo, Abra in March 2008 where two AFP were killed and two wounded filed against Esteban Manuel will be heard.

The other cases Esteban has to face include murder, robbery and arson charges lodged in Candon, Ilocos Sur related to an incident where a unit of the NPA raided the Sta. Lucia Police Station in September 15, 2003.

A case of rebellion filed in Tagudin, Ilocos Sur over an AFP-NPA armed encounter in Quirino, Ilocos Sur in March 15, 2006 which resulted to the death and wounding of several soldiers. The recent case is that of two counts of murder and three counts of frustrated murder lodged in Bontoc, Mountain Province, in relation to two incidents of AFP-NPA armed encounters in Dalican, Bontoc, Mountain Province in March 29, 2014.

Lawyer Reynaldo Cortes of the Cordillera Human Rights Alliance, legal counsel of Esteban, said he sees no reason why all said charges will not be dismissed similar to the case of murder on the death of Balweg.

“He is being detained wrongly, unjustly,” said Imelda Tabiando, CHRA deputy secretary-general.

She said Eduardo Esteban is a victim of the bounty system propped up by President Benigno Aquino who continues to utilize the Development Acceleration Program (DAP) to provide millions of rewards for the arrest of NPA and CPP members. According to Tabiando, the reward system has been enticing AFP and PNP officers to arrest and file criminal charges against NPA members over legitimate military operations conducted in a situation of armed conflict and trumped up charges against innocent civilians and activists accusing them taking part in tactical offensives against government forces.

While demanding the immediate release of and justice for Eduardo Esteban, the CHRA is also urged President Aquino to stop using the DAP as source of rewards. “The reward system has to be subjected under legislative review,” reiterated Tabiando.

Tabiando urged the AFP and PNP to fully understand and implement the international humanitarian laws that acknowledge that parties to armed conflict do engage in legitimate military actions.

Taking off from the affidavits of the AFP/PNP witnesses, except for the execution of Fr. Conrado Balweg and the raid at the Sta. Lucia police station in Ilocos Sur that were offensive actions of the NPA, the rest of the armed encounters happened during combat offensives conducted by the AFP.

In these legitimate military actions, what constitutes violation to international humanitarians laws among others, is willful killing of combatants rendered incapable of fighting such as the wounded, sick and even combatants who laid down their arms. No willful killing or willful frustrated killing was accounted in the circumstances of the armed encounters he nor in the supporting affidavits provided by the witnesses of the AFP/PNP.

Tabiando reiterated that besides being innocent, all the charges maliciously lodged against Eduardo Esteban are legitimate military actions between the NPA and AFP as parties to the on-going armed conflict in the country.