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Arrested ex-UP prof admitted he's an NPA rebel – military
By PATRICIA DENISE CHIU, GMA News
(Updated 11:36 a.m., Oct. 8) Arrested former UP Diliman teaching associate Kim Gargar has admitted to authorities that he is a member of the New People's Army (NPA), the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), the military said Monday.
It was only after Gargar talked with members of human rights group Karapatan that he changed his statement, according to Capt. Alberto Caber of the Armed Forces' Eastern Mindanao Command.
“Siya (Gargar) mismo'ng nagsabi na NPA siya,” Caber told GMA News Online by phone, adding that Gargar “admitted that he joined the NPA and helped (CPP-NPA founder) Joma Sison’s book of exploiting the countryside.”
But Gargar’s lawyer, Joel Mahinay of the Union of Peoples’ Lawyers Movement (UPLM) told local news outfit MindaNews Thursday that Gargar “is not an NPA as his active practice of his profession will show.”
Gargar, a physicist, was arrested after he was wounded in an encounter between government troops and NPA rebels in Brgy Aliwagwag in Cateel town, Davao Oriental, last October 1. His family, however, has denied that he is part of the communist movement.
A military statement said “an M16 rifle, landmines and subversive documents were recovered from” Gargar. It also said that an “NPA Commander alias Ryan was killed during the same clash.”
According to the same statement, Gargar was found unconscious while clutching a rifle 200 meters away from the encounter site. His wounds were then dressed and he was brought to Davao Oriental provincial hospital.
Not armed
In a report on MindaNews, Gargar said he was unarmed and conscious when the soldiers found him on the side of a river near a small waterfall. He also said he was wounded not because of the encounter but because he fell to where he was found while trying to run away from the sounds of gunshots.
Gargar, who said he was in the area to conduct research, also claimed it took nine hours from the time he fell to the spot before the military found him. He denied being an NPA rebel.
Caber, however, said Gargar admitted in a routine interview that he was an NPA member.
However, Caber said following a talk with the human rights group Karapatan, Gargar changed his tune and claimed he was not a member of the NPA, but was forced to make the admission at gunpoint.
Caber also described Gargar’s disposition as “changed” following the talk with Karapatan a day after he was arrested.
“Mabait itong si Gargar. Sinabi niya lahat, mga grupong sinalihan niya, 'yung firearms na ginamit nila at ang mga nagawa niya. Pero ngayon merong sinabi si Gargar na 'di daw totoo 'yun. Sa tingin ko influence ng nakausap niya. Nung nagkausap sila ng Karapatan, nag-iba ang kwento,” he said.
It was only after Gargar talked with members of human rights group Karapatan that he changed his statement, according to Capt. Alberto Caber of the Armed Forces' Eastern Mindanao Command.
“Siya (Gargar) mismo'ng nagsabi na NPA siya,” Caber told GMA News Online by phone, adding that Gargar “admitted that he joined the NPA and helped (CPP-NPA founder) Joma Sison’s book of exploiting the countryside.”
But Gargar’s lawyer, Joel Mahinay of the Union of Peoples’ Lawyers Movement (UPLM) told local news outfit MindaNews Thursday that Gargar “is not an NPA as his active practice of his profession will show.”
Gargar, a physicist, was arrested after he was wounded in an encounter between government troops and NPA rebels in Brgy Aliwagwag in Cateel town, Davao Oriental, last October 1. His family, however, has denied that he is part of the communist movement.
A military statement said “an M16 rifle, landmines and subversive documents were recovered from” Gargar. It also said that an “NPA Commander alias Ryan was killed during the same clash.”
According to the same statement, Gargar was found unconscious while clutching a rifle 200 meters away from the encounter site. His wounds were then dressed and he was brought to Davao Oriental provincial hospital.
Not armed
In a report on MindaNews, Gargar said he was unarmed and conscious when the soldiers found him on the side of a river near a small waterfall. He also said he was wounded not because of the encounter but because he fell to where he was found while trying to run away from the sounds of gunshots.
Gargar, who said he was in the area to conduct research, also claimed it took nine hours from the time he fell to the spot before the military found him. He denied being an NPA rebel.
“Hindi totoo lahat 'yan,” Gargar told Mindanews shortly after his arrest, adding that all evidence presented to implicate him were fabricated.
“Wala sa akin lahat 'yung mga ebidensya na hinarap sa fiscal,” he said.
Caber, however, said Gargar admitted in a routine interview that he was an NPA member.
However, Caber said following a talk with the human rights group Karapatan, Gargar changed his tune and claimed he was not a member of the NPA, but was forced to make the admission at gunpoint.
Caber also described Gargar’s disposition as “changed” following the talk with Karapatan a day after he was arrested.
“Mabait itong si Gargar. Sinabi niya lahat, mga grupong sinalihan niya, 'yung firearms na ginamit nila at ang mga nagawa niya. Pero ngayon merong sinabi si Gargar na 'di daw totoo 'yun. Sa tingin ko influence ng nakausap niya. Nung nagkausap sila ng Karapatan, nag-iba ang kwento,” he said.
In the Mindanews article, Gargar explained that his word may have been misinterpreted by the military.
“Lahat ng sinabi ko, ginawa ko mula nung dinakip nila ako is to please them kasi I don’t want to antagonize (them). So kung ano 'yung gusto nilang marinig sa tingin ko, 'yun 'yung aking sasabihin,” he said
“Kung meron akong mga nasabi doon, ano 'yun, dahil sa psychology ko at that time, psychology ng tao na may kaharap na 10 or more long firearms ng government forces,” Gargar added
For his part Caber denied allegations that the military forced the confession out of Gargar.
“Day after nakausap niya 'yung Karapatan. Tapos may sinasabi pa [siya ngayon] na kaya lang daw sinabi niya na NPA siya ay may mga sundalo na pinalibutan siya ng baril. Pero hindi ganun 'yun. Siyempre he was found during pursuit operations kaya may mga baril,” Caber said.
Gargar, who hails from Iligan City, finished BS in Physics, magna cum laude, at the Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology in 2000 in his hometown, Iligan City; and his MS in Physics at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City.
He was a teaching assistant at UP Diliman from June 2000 to May 2003 according to Mindanews.
Gargar, who hails from Iligan City, finished BS in Physics, magna cum laude, at the Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology in 2000 in his hometown, Iligan City; and his MS in Physics at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City.
He was a teaching assistant at UP Diliman from June 2000 to May 2003 according to Mindanews.
Gargar is currently detained at the provincial jail in Mati, Davao Oriental. He will be charged with illegal possession of firearms and the violation of the election gun ban, Caber said. — KBK/KG, GMA News
Tags: kimgargar, newpeoplesarmy
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