CM – NTF-ELCAC reacts to the acquittal of 2 Aetas in the pioneer anti-terror case

CAMEROON MAGAZINE - GM19/07/20213 Mins read83 Views

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The National Task Force to End the Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) on Monday, July 19, welcomed the decision of a court in Olongapo City to acquit two Aetas who were the first to be charged as terrorists under the controversial Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) of 2020.

Aeta farmers Japer Gurung and Junior Ramos received a plea of evidence from Judicial Section 97 of the Olongapo Regional Court after it was successful Rich had challenged the sufficient evidence filed against them for allegedly shooting at members of the Philippine Army in Zambales in August 2020.

« The decision clearly demonstrated that our judicial system operates fairly without fear or preferential treatment, listen and decide, « said the NTF-ELCAC in a statement.

Gurung and Ramos were considered test cases for the implementation of the dreaded ATA, as they were accused by the government of being members of the New People’s Army (NPA), the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). . Critics of the new law claimed that the “vagueness” of the law could be used by the government as a weapon against dissenters and activists.

The two Aeta farmers were charged with allegedly violating Section 4 of Republic Act 11479 or the ATA Accused of « conspiracy, confederation and cooperation » in acts of terrorism « intended to cause death or serious injury to a person, or to endanger the life of a person » against members of the Philippine Armed Forces (AFP).

Accordingly Gurung and Ramos part of an Aeta group that was evacuated to their ancestral land in San Marcelino, Zambales on August 21, 2020 due to « intensive military operations and ongoing bombing » when they were attacked by members of the 73rd 7th Infantry Division (7ID ).

At the time, the military was flushing out suspected NPA rebels in the area when there was a shooting at Sgt. Rudil Dilao. Soldiers who appeared as witnesses blamed Gurung and Ramos for the incident.

However, the Olongapo court said prosecutors had « failed to prove the identity of the accused as perpetrators of the crime. »

It is said that the soldiers identified the Aetas as those who fired the gun during the shooting incident, as stated in their judicial affidavit, but failed to indicate this in their affidavits, resulting in an inconsistency as to who The real perpetrators of the crime were.

Gurung and Ramos were initially represented by the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL), who used their case to challenge the constitutionality of the ATA in the Supreme Court (SC). The petition had been rejected.

Gurung and Ramos then dropped the NUPL attorneys when legal assistance from the prosecutor’s office (PAO) arrived.

The NTF-ELCAC, a strong supporter of the counterterrorism law, said , The case of Gurung and Ramos was « exploited » by some groups and « used it to promote the lifting of the ATA ».

« We are one with our Aeta brothers and their families in their pursuit of justice, and we will be with them when they roam free and return to their families and their ancestral lands, ”stated the NTF-ELCAC.

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