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Manila police ignore court order, transfer Ocampo to Leyte

Police carry detained leftist lawmaker Satur Ocampo, center, into a van yesterday as they attempted to take him to Leyte Province. PHOTO: EPA

Philippine police flew a detained left-wing lawmaker from Manila to the central province of Leyte, where he faces 22-year-old murder charges, despite a judge's order delaying the move until the Supreme Court rules on his arrest.

Satur Ocampo was arrested last week after 10 days in hiding when he went to the Supreme Court to question the charges against him. He resisted attempts by police to move him to Leyte.

Ocampo's lawyer, Neri Colmenares, said he worried about the safety of his client in Leyte, where a local court issued a warrant for the lawmaker's arrest for allegedly ordering the killings of suspected government spies by communist rebels.

Ocampo, a former communist rebel before he was elected to Congress, denied the charges, saying he had been in military detention under late dictator Ferdinand Marcos when the alleged killings took place.

The 67-year-old was seen being shoved into a van that took him from a Manila police station to the airport early yesterday. He told reporters police would have to drag him to the aircraft, prompting a standoff.

After several hours of talks, Leyte Judge Ephrem Abando granted Ocampo's motion to keep him in Manila until the Supreme Court hears his petition on Friday.

But despite the order, police took Ocampo to the aircraft and flew him to Leyte. Officials said they did not receive a copy of the court's order.

"We are just doing what we have to do under the law," national police chief Oscar Calderon said, explaining that yesterday was the deadline for police to submit Ocampo to the court.

He promised to bring Ocampo back to Manila in time for the Supreme Court's hearing on Friday.

He also denied allegations that the lawmaker was manhandled and harassed.

"We don't think there was harassment. We treat this as an ordinary ... murder case. There is nothing here that is politically motivated," Calderon said.

He said he personally went to the airport to assure Ocampo and his family of his safety.

Ocampo claims the murder charges against him were trumped up as part of a crackdown on left-wing activists.
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