CPA chief submits to NBI after PNP shoot-to-kill order
>> Thursday, January 28, 2021
LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – Cordillera People’s
Alliance chairperson Windel Bolinget submitted himself to the National Bureau
of Investigation (NBI) here Jan. 21 following a shoot-to-kill order against him
by the Cordillera Police Regional Office after “trumped up murder charges” were
filed against him in Mindanao.
A CPA statement said Bolinget submitted himself to the NBI for security while proving his innocence from the fabricated case he is charged with.
“We would like to emphasize that this is in no way an act of surrender nor an admission of guilt for the fabricated charge that the police filed against him. This is so he can have full access to all legal services in challenging his case, while under NBI’s protective custody,” the statement said.
“By submitting, Bolinget maintains his innocence and honors his earlier statement of challenging his case in due time as was his intention when he learned of the warrant issued for his arrest. While in custody, we demand that Bolinget’s right as a detainee be given to him in full. The state will be responsible and accountable should any harm befall him while he is under their protection.”
Police issued a “shoot to kill” order against Bolinget which was denounced by the militant group saying the murder case filed against him in Mindanao was “trumped up.”
The CPA urged police to stop the manhunt and drop the P100,000 bounty against Bolinget.
Police Regional Office Cordillera director R’win Pagkalinawan who reportedly issued the order Tuesday however clarified the “shoot to kill” was only if Bolinget will “manlaban (put up a fight) and resist arrest.”
The CPA said in a statement Wednesday right after the wanted posters with a bounty of P100,000 against Bolinget was issued by Kalinga police in their official Facebook page for any information that could lead to his arrest, several copies of the same poster were reportedly placed around Bolinget’s residence in La Trinidad, Benguet early morning of Jan. 19.
The same posters were also seen in Baguio City.
Bolinget issued a statement earlier saying “before Christmas Day 2020, stalking was observed on my house by a team of men in civilian clothes, days and nights. I was alarmed. I took it very seriously as a signal for extrajudicial killing against me.
“A week later, I was informed that massive surveillance was being done in my hometown in Sagada, Mountain Province, with increased military and police presence.
Bolinget said he and 10 other persons were accused of murdering Garito Tiklonay Malibato on March 21, 2018 in Sitio Upper Tagasan, Barangay Gupitan, Kapalong, Davao del Norte.
“I read in news report that Malibato is a Lumad claimed by his village mates to have been killed by members of the paramilitary group ALAMARA. I have never been to Davao del Norte and have not been to any place in Mindanao in 2018. I am not a murderer as alleged by this fabricated case. I am not a resident of Kapalong, Davao del Norte as falsely claimed in this trumped-up case.
I am not a member of the New People’s Army nor am I a terrorist. I am an unarmed civilian and I believe that continuing the activist tradition of indigenous peoples for human dignity, social justice, land and environment is crucial in our society. I was a student activist before I worked full time with the CPA from 1997 up to the present.
“As a student activist, I joined protests against high tuition fee increases and fought for students’ rights and welfare. As a staff of the CPA Education Commission since 1997 until I was elected as its Secretary General in 2001 and served as CPA’s chairperson from 2009 up to the present, I have been part of implementing CPA programs and activities for people’s rights and welfare, human rights and indigenous peoples’ rights.
The CPA urged government authorities to observe due process in the case of Bolinget saying he was not declared by any court as a criminal.
The CPA is composed of 307 sectoral and indigenous people’s organizations in the Cordillera.
A CPA statement said Bolinget submitted himself to the NBI for security while proving his innocence from the fabricated case he is charged with.
“We would like to emphasize that this is in no way an act of surrender nor an admission of guilt for the fabricated charge that the police filed against him. This is so he can have full access to all legal services in challenging his case, while under NBI’s protective custody,” the statement said.
“By submitting, Bolinget maintains his innocence and honors his earlier statement of challenging his case in due time as was his intention when he learned of the warrant issued for his arrest. While in custody, we demand that Bolinget’s right as a detainee be given to him in full. The state will be responsible and accountable should any harm befall him while he is under their protection.”
Police issued a “shoot to kill” order against Bolinget which was denounced by the militant group saying the murder case filed against him in Mindanao was “trumped up.”
The CPA urged police to stop the manhunt and drop the P100,000 bounty against Bolinget.
Police Regional Office Cordillera director R’win Pagkalinawan who reportedly issued the order Tuesday however clarified the “shoot to kill” was only if Bolinget will “manlaban (put up a fight) and resist arrest.”
The CPA said in a statement Wednesday right after the wanted posters with a bounty of P100,000 against Bolinget was issued by Kalinga police in their official Facebook page for any information that could lead to his arrest, several copies of the same poster were reportedly placed around Bolinget’s residence in La Trinidad, Benguet early morning of Jan. 19.
The same posters were also seen in Baguio City.
Bolinget issued a statement earlier saying “before Christmas Day 2020, stalking was observed on my house by a team of men in civilian clothes, days and nights. I was alarmed. I took it very seriously as a signal for extrajudicial killing against me.
“A week later, I was informed that massive surveillance was being done in my hometown in Sagada, Mountain Province, with increased military and police presence.
Bolinget said he and 10 other persons were accused of murdering Garito Tiklonay Malibato on March 21, 2018 in Sitio Upper Tagasan, Barangay Gupitan, Kapalong, Davao del Norte.
“I read in news report that Malibato is a Lumad claimed by his village mates to have been killed by members of the paramilitary group ALAMARA. I have never been to Davao del Norte and have not been to any place in Mindanao in 2018. I am not a murderer as alleged by this fabricated case. I am not a resident of Kapalong, Davao del Norte as falsely claimed in this trumped-up case.
I am not a member of the New People’s Army nor am I a terrorist. I am an unarmed civilian and I believe that continuing the activist tradition of indigenous peoples for human dignity, social justice, land and environment is crucial in our society. I was a student activist before I worked full time with the CPA from 1997 up to the present.
“As a student activist, I joined protests against high tuition fee increases and fought for students’ rights and welfare. As a staff of the CPA Education Commission since 1997 until I was elected as its Secretary General in 2001 and served as CPA’s chairperson from 2009 up to the present, I have been part of implementing CPA programs and activities for people’s rights and welfare, human rights and indigenous peoples’ rights.
The CPA urged government authorities to observe due process in the case of Bolinget saying he was not declared by any court as a criminal.
The CPA is composed of 307 sectoral and indigenous people’s organizations in the Cordillera.
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