Father of witness in Sagay killing could file kidnapping raps vs rights group
The father of the 14-year-old who is a witness in the massacre in Sagay, Negros Occidental could file kidnapping charges against human rights group Karapatan, Philippine National Police ( PNP) chief Director General Oscar Albayalde said on Monday.
According to the father, Karapatan allegedly used her wife to forcibly take custody of their son without his consent.
"Likewise, the father of the lone witness who is a 14-year-old minor is mulling to file kidnapping charges against some members of Karapatan who took custody of the minor and his mother without his consent," Albyalde said.
In a statement last Tuesday, the National Federation of Sugar Workers ( NFSW) said authorities illegally arrested the minor.
The group said Kathy Panguban of the National Union of Peoples' Lawyer assisted the minor's grandparents to turn him over to them after being held in custody of the City Social Welfare and Development.
Meanwhile, in a radio interview, Senior Supt. Rodolfo Castil, Sagay City police chief, said NSFW and Karapatan are hiding all possible witnesses.
"They would go to the house (of the witness). We are starting to lose our witnesses," Castil said.
Police on Friday filed multiple murder charges at the city prosecutor's office against nine suspects in the killing of nine sugarcane workers in Sagay City, Negros Occidental last Saturday. Ella Dionisio/DMS
