CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (PNA) – Authorities on Friday arrested a former peace consultant of the National Democratic Front (NDF), who is now a government employee in the Misamis Oriental town of Tagoloan, police said.
Operatives of the municipal police of Bayugan, Agusan del Sur arrested 67-year-old Alfredo Mapano at his workplace at the Phividec Industrial Authority, a government-owned and -controlled corporation that manages an economic zone in Misamis Oriental.
Mapano, also known as “Ka Paris”, was imprisoned for seven years at the Misamis Oriental provincial jail for various charges. He posted bail in 2016.
A suspected New People’s Army (NPA) leader, Mapano was a consultant of the National Democratic Front (NDF), who took part in five rounds of peace talks between the government and the Leftist group before President Duterte canceled the negotiations in 2017.
A report by the Tagoloan municipal police said the arresting team from Bayugan City arrived at about 7:48 a.m., and served the warrant of arrest issued by a regional court in Agusan del Sur for robbery-in-band.
Capt. Mark Dungca, Tagoloan municipal police chief, said the Bayugan police informed him that they would be serving an arrest warrant, although they did not specify who the suspect was.
In a statement, Vicente Rubin, Phividec security chief, said: “We will not question the authority with the arrest of Alfredo Mapano. However, Mapano being an employee of Phividec, who was hired during the administration of Franklin Quijano, we see to it that his arrest was in accordance with the law and if he was being taken good care of by the arresting authority.”
Mapano’s wife, Chona, shared the same concern.
“Our family is trying to locate him and ensure that he is safe,” Chona said in a telephone interview Friday afternoon.
She said they were also looking for a lawyer who could travel to Mapano’s location, and facilitate his release.
“It (arrest) was unexpected. He is now living a normal life,” Chona said, adding that the Mapano family should have been informed first by the police before serving the arrest warrant.
She questioned the motive for Mapano’s arrest, considering he surrendered to the government following the collapse of the peace talks in Europe.
According to Chona, it was Leoncio Evasco Jr., a known Duterte ally, who facilitated Mapano's surrender to the government and recommended Mapano a job at Phividec sometime in 2017.
He began working at Phividec’s corporate social responsibility office and was detailed recently as a security officer.