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house. They declared it was a raid. Candule’s friends, frightened
by the police presence, ran to different directions, leaving him.
Edgar was caught by surprise and was unable to move due to
shock. Some of policemen run after his friends while others
searched the house premises. The policemen grabbed him by
the neck, handcuffed him and others were repeatedly punching
him on the chest. They forced him to admit he was a member of
a rebel group, the nPA.
Candule was interviewed while in police custody days following
his arrest. He recollected how he was arrested; firstly, he was first
taken to municipal Police of Botolan before he was transferred to
the Camp Conrado S. yap in Iba, Zambales where he was held for
three days. At the police camp, none of those who took him into
custody identified themselves. He was questioned in the absence
of legal counsel, placed in a room where he was punched twice on
the chest, electrocuted on his abdomen and force to admit that
he owned a calibre .45 pistol, a magazine assembly for a calibre
.45 and live ammunitions they had seized from the house from
where he was taken.
They also threatened to kill Candule once he denied his
membership with the rebel group. On march 24, Candule was
transferred to the provincial jail. he was charged with illegal
possession of firearms, for allegedly possessing firearms that the
policemen recovered from the house. But on April q prosecutor
Esteban mulon Jr., had the charge against him amended from
illegal possession of firearms into violation of Section 3 (b) Article
134 for Rebellion or Insurrection and Section 6 for Accessory of
the human Security Act of 2007 (RA 9372). The original charge
has likewise absorbed into the amended information.
Story 38: Soldiers illegally arrested, detained and
tortured a man
Victim: Pablito Suplido in Sitio Udlian, Barangay San Marcelino,
General Nakar. He belongs to the indigenous tribe Agta.
Alleged perpetrators: More or less 20 soldiers in military uniform,
all attached to the 16th IB, Alpha Company, PA
Place of incident: in Sitio Udlian, Barangay San Marcelino,
General Nakar, Quezon province
Date and time of incident: In April 2008
AHRC-UAC-219-2008
On April 2008, Pablito Suplido was with his friend, Sergeant
Tanega. As they were chatting, Sergeant Tanega asked him to
buy some liquor at a nearby store. On his way to a store, about
20 soldiers arrested him. The soldiers were not wearing identity
badges and were carrying M14 rifles and machine guns. One of
the soldiers grabbed his bolo (farm knife) and used its strap to
tie his hands behind his back. As he sat by the roadside, two
other soldiers kicked him in the chest. Another soldier pointed
article 2 � June-Sept 2012 Vol. 11, No. 2-3
“
Candule was held
for three days. At the
police camp, none
of those who took
him into custody
identified themselves.
He was questioned
in the absence of
legal counsel.
”
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