BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
Ka Frank Fernandez – the arrested spokesman of the National Democratic Front (NDF) in Negros Island – is not being abused while in detention, according to Mayor Magdaleno Peña of Moises Padilla, Negros Occidental.
Peña fielded this statement after the NDF accused government forces of torturing Fernandez.
Fernandez was nabbed last Sunday, March 24, in Liliw, Laguna on the strength of an arrest warrant the court issued in relation to murder and attempted murder charges he faces.
His wife Cleofe – who also have ties to the rebel movement – was arrested, too.
In a press conference yesterday, Peña played a 40-minute video showing him and Fernandez talking after the arrest.
Peña said the NDF spokesman is suffering from many health conditions, like complications in the heart and kidney.
The mayor added that Fernandez, in fact, needs dialysis.
He added that government forces had to take Fernandez to the Asian Hospital and Medical Center in Alabang, Muntinlupa City after his arrest.
Fernandez was then transferred to the Army General Hospital inside Fort Bonifacio where he is now detained.
The NDF earlier said Fernandez and his wife may be subjected to abuse since they were detained in an isolated facility. But Peña stressed the couple are being treated and fed well.
Meanwhile, Brigadier General Benedict Arevalo – commander of the Philippine Army’s 303rd Infantry Brigade – credited Peña over the arrest of Fernandez.
Arevalo said Peña gave the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police “resources” that led to the “historical event.”
The Army official added that they gained intelligence in the mobile phones and laptops seized from Fernandez.
The NDF spokesman was arrested after an informant tipped the police and the Army of his whereabouts.
The informant will receive an P8-million reward, said Arevalo.
Fernandez’s arrest came two days after President Rodrigo Duterte cancelled peace talks with the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).
The NDF is the political arm of the CPP./DGB, WDJ
