Slain peasant head’s daughter gives birth; held

By Aaron Recuenco and Raymund Antonio

BAGGAO, Cagayan -- Police have arrested the daughter of slain peasant leader Randy Echanis in a raid here Wednesday night, barely four months after her father was killed in an apartment in Quezon City. 

In Camp Crame, Gen. Debold Sinas, chief of the Philippine National Police, said 32-year old Amanda Socorro Echanis yielded an M16 rifle and two grenades when police served the search warrant in her house in Barangay Carupian.
    Police said Echanis was the finance officer of the West Front, Komiteng Probinsya ng Cagayan (COMPROB) Cagayan of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) operating in Cagayan Valley region.

The arrest of Echanis came barely four months after her father, Anakpawis Chairperson Randy Echanis, was killed by unidentified men who barged inside his home in Quezon City. Echanis was stabbed to death.

Anakpawis, in a statement, confirmed the arrest of Echanis but claimed that she was illegally arrested and that the gun and the grenade seized from her were all planted.

“We assert that Echanis was arrested on planted evidence. She is just a nursing mother who just gave birth to her first child. We call for her immediate and unconditional release on just, humanitarian grounds,” the statement read.

But Sinas disputed the statement of Anakpawis, saying police and military records revealed that Echanis is involved in the underground movement.

In fact, Sina said, the husband of Echanis is an active member of the NPA, the reason why she had an M16 rifle and two grenades.

PNP spokesman Brig. Gen. Ildebrandi Usana said that there was nothing wrong with the police operation, saying it was done based on existing police operational procedures.

He said the implementation of the search warrant was witnessed by at least two barangay officials.

The arrest of Echanis also came a few days after the daughter of Bayan Muna Rep. Eufemia Cullamat was killed in a military operation in Surigao del Sur.

Also this year, the government was subjected to intense criticism after a female urban poor activist lost her child due to complications when they were separated.

Reina Mae Nasino was also arrested in a raid in the office of the Kadamay in Manila.

She gave birth while under police custody but her child was separated from her despite several appeals to let Nacino stay with her baby for humanitarian grounds.

The baby died a few months later. The arrest of Echanis coincided with the raid conducted by combined forces of the military and police on the house of Isabelo “Buting” Adviento, chairperson of the same barangay in the said municipality.