A joint force of police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) arrested National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) peace consultant Porferio Tuna on October 2 in Barangay Mankilam, Tagum City, Davao del Norte. This violates the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG), a agreement between the Philippine government and the NDFP.
JASIG guarantees the safety of all those involved in the peace negotiations. It prohibits surveillance and arrest of negotiators, consultants, and other personnel. It was signed on February 24, 1995 under the Ramos administration.
Tuna, 60 years old, was charged with kidnapping, serious illegal detention, murder, robbery with violence, and attempted homicide. He was also implicated by 10th ID spokesperson Maj Ruben Gadut in New People’s Army (NPA)-Southern Mindanao armed offensives and attacks.
The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) condemned the Marcos regime and the AFP for Tuna’s arrest. The Party called for the respect of Tuna’s rights, including his right to a lawyer of his choice, and his immediate release.
Tuna served as NDFP peace consultant during negotiations with the Philippine government in 2016 in Norway. He provided crucial information to the NDFP Negotiating Panel on the situation of farmers, plantation workers, and minority groups in Southern Mindanao, so that the NDFP could effectively represent and advance their interests in the negotiations and in crafting an agreement on comprehensive socioeconomic reforms.
“Tuna’s arrest and detention clearly aim to punish him for serving as a peace consultant for the NDFP,” said Marco Valbuena, information officer of the CPP. He added that this does not help build confidence in efforts to further peace negotiations.
Valbuena condemned the AFP and its paid agents for pressuring Tuna to abandon his principles and the national-democratic goals of the people. Tuna is currently being subjected to intense psychological torture.
The counter-revolutionary group Kalinaw-SEMR threatened Tuna, saying that he should surrender like they did. The group, composed of traitors to the masses and now military agents, including Arian Jane Ramos (aka Marikit), Ida Marie Montero (aka Mandy), and others, threatened that Tuna’s refusal to surrender will not only affect him “but also the lives of those close to him.”
“We call on all local and international organizations for human rights, peace advocates, and democratic groups to help ensure Tuna’s release, so that he can continue to work as a peace consultant and serve the people, especially the plantation workers and farmers in the Davao region,” Valbuena stated.
