Republi

c of the
Philippi
nes
Depart
ment of
Justice

versus
09dINV11000230

NATION
AL PRO
SECUTI
ON SER
VICE
OFFICE
OF THE
PROVIN
CIAL PR
OSECUT
OR
Provinc
e of Sa
mar
Calbayo
g City

NPS NO. VIII

t
h

PEOPLE
OF THE
PHILIPPI
NES,

Complai
nant,

For: ILLE
GAL PO
SSESSIO
N OF
ERICSO
N ACOS
TA,

EXPLOSI
VES

Respon
dent.
x

COUNT
ER AFF
IDAVIT
I, ERICS
ON ACO
STA, of l
egal ag
e, marri
ed, and
a reside
nt of 8
Annap
olis, Cu
bao, Qu
ezon Ci
ty,
after be
ing duly
sworn i
n accor
dance
with la
w, here
by depo
se and
state th
at:
1. I am
a Freela
nce Jou
rnalist
doing r
esearch
on Hum
an Righ
ts violat
ions an
d the pr
otectio
n of
the env
ironme
nt in Sa
mar for
the Alli
ance of
Concer
ned Sa
mareo
s (ACOS
) and th
e Kapu
nungan
han
Gudti n
ga Par

aguma
ha Wes
te han
Samar
(KAPAW
A). Cop
ies of s
ome of
my Res
earch W
orks an
d
Articles
are her
eto atta
ched.

2. On F
ebruary
13, 201
1, havi
ng just
comple
ted my
researc
h task t
he prev
ious da
y, I lef
t the
village
center
of Bara
ngay B
ayang,
San Jor
ge, Sam
ar at a
little p
ast 9
o clock
in the
morning,
and
headed
for wha
t the ba
rrio folk
call thei
r port
an un
marked
quay by
the rive
r which
was les
s than
an hour
s walk
via mo
untain t
rail, wh
ere a p
ump bo
at was
schedul
ed to pi
ck me
up at th

e said p
lace
and bri
ng me t
o San Jo
rge tow
n prope
r.
3. I wa
s joined
by Vice
nte Dac
les, the
Barang
ay Secr
etary, a
nd seve
ral othe
r reside
nts of B
ay
ang wh
o were
all goin
g to tow
n as we
ll for so
me busi
ness.

4. Dacl
es was
at the
head of
our pa
ck, follo
wed clo
sely by
myself,
while th
e rest,
who we
re
mostly
women
and chil
dren, w
ere falli
ng behi
nd by a
t least a
hundre
d meter
s.
5. At ar
ound 10
:00 am,
as we w
ere just
some 2
00 met
ers awa
y from
our des
tination
, we ca
ught

sight of
a plato
on of so
ldiers w
ho moti
oned us
(Dacles
and my
self) to
stop. I
at once
noticed
that the
soldiers
were re
sting an
d cooki
ng by th
e left si
de of th
e trail.

6. One
of the
m appr
oached
us ale
rtly an
d aske
d where
we cam
e from
and wh
ere we
were
going.
Dacles
said tha
t we ca
me fro
m the v
illage a
nd that
a pump
boat wa
s waitin
g for us
nearby
as we
were he
aded for
town.

7. The s
oldier t
hen inq
uired i
f we kn
ew whe
re they
could f
etch wa
ter. Dac
les turn
ed arou
nd
and poi
nted to
an area
somew
here, a
nd gave
the sold
ier brief
directio
ns on h
ow to g
et there
. He ev
en
added t
hat if it
became
difficult
to locat
e, the s
oldier c
ould jus
t ask th
e rest o
f our co
mpany
who we
re
lagging
behind.
The sol
dier the
n told u
s to car
ry on, a
nd so w
e did.

8. Barel
y a min
ute afte
r we ha
d starte
d walki
ng agai
n, anot
her gro
up of so
ldiers (t
his time
merely
a team)
had app

eared in
front of
us. One
soldier
asked t
he sam
e questi
ons w
here di
d we
come fr
om? Wh
ere wer
e we go
ing? Da
cles sim
ply repe
ated th
e answ
ers he g
ave earl
ier.
9. Dacle
s also t
old the
soldier t
hat we
had alre
ady pas
sed thr
ough th
e main
body of
the plat
oon
and had
in fact g
iven the
soldiers
there di
rections
where t
o get dr
inking
water. T
he soldi
er told
us we
can go.

10. But
just as
we wer
e turnin
g our b
acks to
him, th
e soldie
r again
ordered
us to ha
lt. He w
as
intently
eyeing t
he mini
knapsa
ck that I

was car
rying. H
e said:
Ano ya
ng nasa
bag mo
?
11. Bef
ore I co
uld eve
n reply,
the sold
ier, in b
risk mo
vement
s, had u
nslung
the kna
psack fr
om
my sho
ulders a
nd had
zipped i
t open.
It was
my com
puter n
otebook
and so
me oth
er com
pliment
ary
gadgets
he foun
d inside
my mini

knapsa
ck.
12. The
soldier
was qui
te surpr
ised by
what he
saw. N
asa bun
dok ka t
apos m
ay lapto
p ka? t
he
soldier
said.
13. The
soldier
and his
team le
d us qui
ckly ba
ck to w
here th
e main
body of
the plat

oon wa
s.
There t
he soldi
ers took
turns d
oing bo
dy sear
ch on m
e. They
emptie
d my po
ckets a
nd my s
ling pou
ch;
they ch
ecked
my side
s, ran t
heir ha
nds thr
ough ev
ery part
of my b
ody and
lifted th
e hem o
f my shi
rt
up to m
y neck l
ooking f
or conc
ealed w
eapons.
They di
d not fin
d any.

14. One
soldier
handed
me my
comput
er and t
old me
to turn i
t on. I t
old the
m that t
he
batterie
s had al
ready d
rained
out. I pr
essed t
he pow
er butto
n to sho
w them
that the
comput
er won
t
boot. B
ut anot
her sold
ier scol
ded me

for pres
sing the
button
saying t
hat I mi
ght hav
e consci
ously a
nd
slyly tri
ggered
the com
puter to
self
destruc
t.
15. The
n the so
ldiers, fi
ve to se
ven of t
hem at
a time,
started
to hara
ngue m
e almos
t in unis
on,
with rai
sed voi
ces and
intermit
tent inv
ectives
and thr
eats. Th
ey said:
NPA ka
! Mataa
s siguro
ranggo
mo kay
a ka ma
y laptop
! Mag
ingat ka
sa mga
kilos m
o baka
makatik
im ka!
Huwag
kang tu
makbo!
Ayusin
mo ang
mga sa
got mo
kung ay
aw mon
g masa
ktan!

16. I tri
ed to ex
plain to

them th
at I was
doing r
esearch
in the a
rea but
whatev
er I said
was
drowne
d it see
med by
their int
ense ex
citemen
t to bad
ger and
harass
me.

17. This
went on
for seve
ral min
utes un
til our o
ther co
mpanio
ns from
Bay
ang fina
lly arriv
ed at
the sce
ne.

18. A so
ldier as
ked the
women
of the g
roup if t
hey kne
w me. T
he wom
en said
yes and
that the
y
were su
pposed
to go to
town wi
th me.
Another
soldier
butted i
n and s
houted
and ber
ated th
e group
,
Mga si
nungali
ng kayo
, said t
he soldi
er, NP
A ang t
aong ito
!
19. An
officer fi
nally int
ervene
d. He in
troduce
d himse
lf as the
comma
nding o
fficer of
the
platoon.
He told
my com
panions
that the
yre all f
ree any
way to
go to w
here th
ey were
suppos
ed to g
o,
and the
soldiers
will only
take wit
h them
the Tag

n
d

t
h

alog (m
e).
20. Wh
en aske
d by th
e wome
n where
I would
be brou
ght to, t
he offic
er just t
old the
m to go
.
Hence,
Barang
ay Secr
etary D
acles a
nd the r
est of t
he Bay
ang gro
up were
compell
ed to le
ave me
with
the sold
iers and
went str
aight to
the port
.
21. The
officer a
pproach
ed me a
nd gave
me his
name, 2
Lieut
enant Ja
cob Ma
darang.
He said
that the
y would
bring m
e to the
headqu
arters o
f the Ch
arlie Co
mpany
of the 3
4 Infa
ntry Bat
allion in
Barang
ay Blan
ca Auro
ra. At ar
ound 11
:00 am,
Madara

ng assi
gned m
e a plac
e in the
middle
of the
formati
on and
the plat
oon beg
an marc
hing an
d passi
ng thro
ugh str
etches
of rocky
and mu
ddy terr
ain.
22. We
would o
n irregu
lar inter
vals sto
p and r
est for
a few m
inutes. I
found o
ut that
Madara
ng
was usi
ng thes
e rests t
o try to
contact
his sup
eriors t
o infor
m them
of my a
rrest. T
he cellp
hone si
gnal
in the a
reas wa
s so uns
table or
was sim
ply abs
ent that
it took
Madara
ng all of
seven h
ours to
finally g
et
to a pos
ition wh
ere a ce
llphone
call was
possible
.

23. At 6
:00 p.m
., I saw
and hea
rd Mada
rang tal
king to
someon
e on his
cellpho
ne. He
was
consist
ent in a
ddressi
ng that
someon
e as si
r so I t
hought
that he
was in f
act con
versing
with on
e of
his supe
riors.

24. I im
mediat
ely got
the drift
of the s
aid con
versatio
n. It see
med th
at Mada
rang wa
s being
told not
to bring
me any
more to
the Co
mpany
headqu
arters,
but just
to get
rid of
me inst
ead.
Madara
ng on t
he othe
r hand
was sor
t of lob
bying o
r politel
y insisti
ng that
it was w
iser to b
ring me
to
headqu
arters f

or interr
ogation
as he st
rongly f
elt that
that the
y could
extract
from m
e some
valuabl
e
informa
tion. I al
so hear
d him s
ay: Tag
alog ito,
sir. Bak
a taga
legal fro
nt ito n
g natio
nal o m
ula sa is
ang
national
organ.

25. Afte
r the ph
one call
, Madar
ang tol
d his m
en that
they wo
uld inde
ed brin
g me to
the Cha
rlie
Compa
ny HQ i
n Blanc
a. He al
so com
manded
a soldie
r to tie
me by t
he wais
t before
we mar
ched ag
ain.

26. An
hour an
d a half
later at
another
stop, M
adaran
g order
ed one
of his m
en to gi

ve me a
jacket,
and so I
was giv
en one,
a fatigu
e army
upper g
arment,
and I pu
t it on.
At first I
thought
of it as
some si
mple ge
sture of
humani
tarian c
oncern
on the
part of t
he youn
g lieute
nant.

27. As s
oon ho
wever a
s we en
tered a
village
center (
this was
the bar
angay i
mmedia
tely bef
ore
Barang
ay Blan
ca), I fo
und out
what th
e jacket
was rea
lly all a
bout. T
he soldi
er behi
nd me
who wa
s also
the one
holding
my leas
h sudde
nly plac
ed his ri
ght arm
upon m
y shoul
ders. Th
e act m
ade it a
ppear

that thi
s soldie
r and m
e were
casually
walking
like pals
as the p
latoon p
assed t
hrough
the dim
ly lit
streets
of the v
illage. T
he plato
on had
to make
sure th
at no o
ne in th
e barrio
saw the
unit wit
ha
captive.

28. We
arrived
finally a
t Charli
e Comp
any HQ
in Blanc
a at aro
und 9:0
0 pm. M
adaran
g forma
lly
turned
me and
my thin
gs over
to his s
uperior.
The latt
er intro
duced h
imself t
o me as
the com
pany
comma
nder. I
m not s
o sure n
ow how
ever if
he had
given m
e his na
met or h
is rank.
h
At any r
ate his

t
h

t
h

welco
me rem
arks c
onfirme
d witho
ut doub
t my ea
rlier gut
feel. H
e said
Pasala
mat ka
binuhay
ka pa.
Sabi ko
kanina
sa mga
tao ko h
wag ka
nang da
lhin dito
at i
charge
ka na la
ng sa e
ncounte
r.

29. The
compan
y comm
ander t
hen tol
d me to
rest for
a few m
inutes
while w
aiting f
or the
Batallio
n comm
ander.
Being f
amiliar
with the
rights o
f a pers
on unde
r arrest,
I told hi
m that i
t would
be best
to turn
me ove
r to the
nearest
police d
etachm
ent im
mediat
ely and
that I w
ould ne
ed a la
wyer.
He didn
t give
me any
answer
as if he
didnt h
ear me.
Somebo
dy then
took a p
icture o
f me usi
ng a
cellpho
ne.
30. Whil
e waitin
g for th
e battal
ion com
mander
, I saw
and hea
rd an ar
my offic
er briefi
ng the

personn
el on ca
mp reg
arding
my arre
st and d
etentio
n. The o
fficer st
ressed t
hat no
one out
side the
HQ
or the i
mmedia
te com
munity
around
the cam
p must
be told
the Cha
rlie Co
mpany
was hol
ding me
. The
human
rights g
roups h
e said
would p
robably
start se
arching
for me t
he next
day or t
he day
after th
at
and so t
hey had
to be re
ally stri
ct that
my pres
ence in
the HQ
did not l
eak.
31. The
battalio
n comm
ander a
nd his e
ntourag
e arrive
d at aro
und 10:
00 to 1
0:30 p
m. This
also
signale
d the st
art of m
y interr
ogation.

At the o
utset I r
eiterate
d that
my arre
st, dete
ntion an
d
interrog
ation w
ere all b
eyond t
he boun
ds set b
y law. I
said tha
t if they
are in a
ny way
contem
plating
on char
ging me
with so
methin
g, then
they sh
ould jus
t bring
me to t
he near
est poli
ce deta
chment
and
that I w
ould ur
gently b
e needi
ng the
assistan
ce of m
y lawye
r. An o
fficer sh
owed hi
s irritati
on and
loudly a
nd emp
haticall
y said:
Legal pr
ocedure
kayo na
ng legal
procedu
re eh ka
yo nga
ang ilig
al! In
that cas
e, I said
it would
really b
e best f
or me t
o refuse
to answ
er their

questio
ns.
32. The
interrog
ation by
at least
8 milita
ry pers
ons taki
ng turn
s, com
menced
10:30 p
.m. of t
he
13 of
Februar
y and st
retched
up to 6:
00 pm o
f the 15
of Feb
ruary. W
ithin thi
s span (
more or
less 44
hours) I
was onl
y allow
ed two (
2) hour
s of sle
ep whic
h was a
ctually
made p
ossible
becaus
e my
interrog
ators th
emselv
es alrea
dy got t
oo tired
and sle
epy.
33. I wa
s subjec
ted to v
arious li
nes of q
uestioni
ng to w
hich I w
ould al
ways re
mind m
y
interrog
ators th
at I coul
d only a
nswer q
uestion

s regar
ding ba
sic pers
onal dat
a. My in
terrogat
ors in
turn wo
uld sho
w gentl
e, patie
nt persi
stence t
hat alte
rnated
with not
so veile
d threat
s that s
aid that
the only
real roa
d to my
safety i
s coope
ration w
ith the
military.

34. On t
he 15
of Febru
ary, at
around
6:00 p.
m., the
colonel
(whom I
had onl
y know
n as
Willia
m afte
r hearin
g anoth
er office
r addre
ss him
as such
) told m
e that t
hey wo
uld brin
g me to
the
San Jor
ge Muni
cipal Po
lice Hea
dquarte
rs. We r
ode an
SUV an
d it too
k us les
s than a
n hour t
o reach
San

Jorge PN
P.
35. Upo
n arrivi
ng at th
e vicinit
y of San
Jorge P
NP, the
colonel
and the
other o
fficers
went
straight
into the
headqu
arters b
uilding
while I
was left
inside t
he vehi
cle with
my gua
rd soldi
ers.

36. Afte
r about
20 min
utes, on
e soldie
r, who h
ad earli
er enter
ed the s
aid buil
ding wit
h the
colonel,
returne
d to the
vehicle
and in a
n urgen
t tone a
sked m
y guard
soldiers
if they
had bro
ught t
he
grenad
e. One
of the s
oldiers i
n the S
UV said
yes, an
d took o
ut from
a small
bag a g
renade
and gav
e it

to the s
oldier w
ho aske
d for it.
The latt
er went
back to
the buil
ding qui
te in a
hurry. It
was at t
his time

t
h

that I g
uessed
and real
ized tha
t I migh
t just be
charged
with a c
rime th
at had s
omethi
ng to d
o with t
he
grenade
.
37. A fe
w minut
es more
, I was l
ed insid
e the P
NP buil
ding. A
police o
fficer n
amed L
ucero
receive
d me a
nd infor
med m
e that I
am bein
g charg
ed with
illegal p
ossessi
on of ex
plosive.
I saw o
ne
soldier
place th
e grena
de on a
n office
table an
d anoth
er polic
e officer
who wa

s occup
ying the
said
table pi
ck the e
xplosiv
e up an
d nonch
alantly i
nspecte
d it. Luc
ero the
n said t
hat the
blotter
procedu
re
could w
ait until
morning
, before
the inqu
est in C
albayog
City.
38. Mea
nwhile
Lucero t
old me
that I w
ould be
brought
to the G
andara
Hospital
to be ex
amined
by a me
dico
legal pr
actition
er. The
colonel
and his
men dr
ove me
to the s
aid hos
pital an
d there
Lucero
present
ed me t
o the m
edico
legal ar
ound 8:
00 pm.
They th
en brou
ght me
back to
San Jor
ge PNP.
The
colonel
and his
men m
ade sur
e that I

was sec
urely lo
cked up
before l
eaving.

39. The
young S
an Jorg
e PNP c
hief, Pa
gulayan
started
chattin
g with
me fro
m outsi
de my
detenti
on cell.
I told hi
m that I
needed
to cont
act my
family b
y phone
to infor
m them
of my si
tuation
and wh
ereabo
uts. The
police c
hief sai
d that h
e cant
allow m
e to ma
ke that
call. I pl
eaded u
sing a
differen
t tact b
ut main
ly by in
voking t
hat I ha
ve the r
ight to
a phone
call. He
counter
ed by s
aying th
at
he cant
do anyt
hing be
cause t
he colo
nel nev
er ment
ioned a
nything

about it
.
40. On t
he 16
of Febru
ary at 7
:30 a.m
., I com
pleted t
he blott
er proce
dure. T
he polic
e made
me fill u
p some
forms, t
ook my
fingerpr
ints and
mug sh
ots. An
d aroun
d 8:00
a.m., th
e colon
el and h
is
men arr
ived at
the San
Jorge P
NP. The
y were
all in st
ylish ca
sual civi
lian clot
hes.
41. The
colonel
talked b
riefly wi
th the p
olice o
fficers t
hen his
group l
eft for C
albayog
City wh
ere
the poli
ce told
me earli
er I wou
ld be in
quest.
A few m
inutes a
fter the
colonel
left, I w
as mad
e to rid
e
the poli
ce pick

up with
my han
ds hand
cuffed b
ehind m
e. We a
rrived a
t the Ca
lbayog
City Hal
l of Justi
ce
at arou
nd 9:00
a.m.
42. At t
he Hall
of Justic
e my po
lice esc
orts he
aded by
Lucero l
ed me i
nside a
prosecu
tors o
ffice.
They tol
d me to
wait wh
ile Luce
ro prep
ared th
e paper
s of my
complai
nants. S
ome of
the colo
nels m
en
were al
so in th
at office
. Lucero
never a
ttempte
d to exp
lain to
me the
details
of the p
rocedur
e on his
volition.
When I
asked s
ome qu
estions
while h
e was t
alking t
o the pr
osecuto
rs secr
etary, L
ucero ju
st

flared u
p and t
old me
to shut
up. I se
nsed th
at the p
resence
of the c
olonel a
nd his
men wa
s giving
the
police o
fficer so
me und
ue pres
sure.

43. Fro
m what
I gather
ed from
Lucero
and the
secretar
ys Win
aray co
nversati
on, ther
e was
some hi
tch in t
he inqu
est sch
edule. T
he sten
ograph
er was
not avai
lable, a
ccordin
g to the
secretar
y.
Worse,
the pro
secutor
was out
and the
secretar
y had n
o idea
when h
e would
be comi
ng back
. The
secretar
y advis
ed Luce
ro to go
to anot
her offic
e and tr
y to con
sult wit
h some

legal pe
rsonnel
there.

44. We
went to
the said
office, s
o did th
e colon
el and h
is men.
It was a
relativel
y big o
ffice
space w
ith man
y tables
and em
ployees
. Lucero
consult
ed with
some p
eople a
nd I hea
rd that,
in lieu o
f
an inqu
est, he
was ad
vised to
facilitat
e the fili
ng of th
e compl
aint dir
ectly to
the offic
e of the
judge.

45. Luc
ero the
n expre
ssed his
dilemm
a with
my cust
odial de
tention
in that
he was
appreh
ensive
of bring
ing me
back to
San Jor
ge PNP.
He said
that the
y would
have a
proble

m with
my

mainte
nance a
nd that
further
more, h
e
t was n
h sure
ot
how the
y would
perform
in case
the NPA
tried to
rescue
me.
46. Luc
ero the
n asked
if it wer
e legall
y possi
ble to h
and me
back to
the mili
tary as
he had
a few
hours e
arlier b
een brie
fed by t
he colo
nel that
the 8
ID was
willing t
o take
me in u
nder so
me spe
cial
custodi
al arran
gement
s. It wa
s here t
hat I de
cided to
interve
ne. I ma
de sure
that my
voice w
as loud
and cle
ar for al
l the e
mploye
es in th
at big o
ffice to
hear. I s
tood up

and sai
d that t
he idea
was hig
hly
irregula
r and d
efinitely
illegal. I
then dr
ew their
attentio
n towar
ds the c
olonel a
nd his
men by
pointing
at their
group w
hile say
ing that
these m
en in ci
vilian cl
othes w
ere the
soldiers
and offi
cers wh
o illegal
ly
arreste
d me a
nd are
now my
complai
nants, a
nd I wo
uld nev
er allow
them to
take me
into cus
tody.

47. I he
ard a la
dy empl
oyee re
mark,
Ah, mg
a sunda
lo pala
sila! a
nd I sa
w the a
pprovin
g,
sympat
hetic gl
ances a
nd gest
ures of
some of
the em
ployees
. Then o
ne empl
oyee tol

d Lucer
o that I
could n
ot be br
ought b
ack to t
he milit
ary and
the bes
t altern
ative w
as to bri
ng me t
o the su
b
provinci
al
jail.
48. The
n I said,
in the s
ame lou
d and cl
ear voic
e that s
omeone
should t
ell Luce
ro that I
m
entitled
to a ph
one call
, a right
that the
San Jor
ge PNP
deprive
d of me
despite
my plea
s and d
espite t
he
very cri
tical sit
uation t
hat my
family
was in f
araway
Metro M
anila. A
nother
employ
ee told
Lucero t
hat,
yes, the
San Jor
ge PNP
should
have all
owed m
e to call
my fami
ly. The
employ
ee, sen
sing tha

t I still h
ad
more is
sues to
present,
told Luc
ero to b
ring me
to the P
ublic Att
orneys
Office (P
AO).

49. At t
he PAO,
I menti
oned to
one of t
he lawy
ers that
I might
need th
e servic
e of one
of their
attorne
ys espe
cially b
ecause
I have y
et to co
ntact m
y family
and my
private
lawyer t
hanks t
o the p
olice
and the
military
s comp
lete disr
egard o
f my rig
hts. The
colonel,
as if tryi
ng to w
ash his
hands,
stood u
p
and ann
ounced
that he
s willing
to let m
e use hi
s phone
. I said
OK, so t
he colo
nel and
I left th
e PAO a
nd
went ou
tside th

e Hall o
f Justice
.
50. Out
side the
Hall of J
ustice, t
he colo
nel gav
e me hi
s phone
and I w
as able
to cont
act my
mother.
But just
as I was
giving
my mot
her the
details
of my si
tuation,
the colo
nel told
me to e
nd the
call. He
took his
phone a
nd left
with his
men.

51. Afte
r this th
e San Jo
rge poli
cemen
brought
me to t
he sub
provinci
al jail w
here I w
as
remitte
d aroun
d 1:30
p.m.
52. I lat
er learn
ed that
a Comp
laint for
Illegal P
ossessi
on of Ex
plosives
was file
d again
st me

before t
he Regi
onal Tri
al Court
of Calb
ayog Ci
ty at 10
:30 a.m
. of Febr
uary 16
, 2011
or seve
nty two
(72)
hours a
nd thirt
y (30)
minutes
after m
y arrest
on Febr
uary 13
, 2011
at 10:0
0 a.m.

53. I ve
hement
ly deny
that th
e hand
grenad
e was
confisc
ated in
my pos
session
or unde
r my
control,
but was
in truth
only pla
nted by
the mili
tary wh
o arrest
ed me.

54. In
my arre
st and c
ontinue
d deten
tion, m
y consti
tutional
and hu
man rig
hts wer
e violat
ed. To
summar
ize:
a. I wa
s arrest

ed with
out war
rant whi
le not c
ommitti
ng any
crime o
r doing
anythin
g illegal
;

b. I wa
s not inf
ormed
of the r
eason f
or my a
rrest at
the tim
e of my
arrest;
c. I wa
s denie
d the ri
ght to c
ounsel;
d. I wa
s denie
d a pho
ne call
and pre
vented
from co
ntactin
g my fa
mily or
my law
yer;
e. I wa
s subjec
ted to p
rolonge
d interr
t
ogation
h
for 44 h
ours;
f. Duri
ng tacti
cal inter
rogatio
n, I was
physical
ly and p
sycholo
gically t
ortured;
g. I wa
s depriv
ed of sl
eep, thr
eatene
d, intimi
dated, c
oerced
and forc
ed to a

t
h

dmit m
embers
hip
in the N
PA;
h. The
evidenc
e again
st me,
the gre
nade,
was pla
nted;
i. The
complai
nt again
st me w
as filed
in court
only aft
er 72 h
ours an
d 30 mi
nutes af
ter my
arrest;
and,
j. I wa
s detain
ed in a
military
camp,
which is
not of ci
vilian ju
risdictio
n.
55. This
Counter
Affidavi
t is bein
g execu
ted to a
ttest to
the trut
h of all
the fore
going fa
cts and
events
and to
disclai
m all th
e accus
ations a
gainst
me.

IN WITN
ESS WH
EREOF,
I have h
ereunto
affixed
my sign
ature o
n this 1
1
day
of April,
2011 at
Calbayo
g City.

ERICSO
N ACOS
TA (sgd
.)

Affiant

SUBSCR
IBED AN
D SWO
RN to b
efore m
e this 1
1
da
y of Apr
il, 2011
at Calba
yog City
.
I hereby
CERTIFY
that I h
ave per
sonally
examin
ed the
affiant
and tha
t I am s
atisfied
that he
has

volunta
rily exe
cuted a
nd unde
rstood h
is Count
er
Affidavi
t.

AGUSTI
N M. AV
ALON (s
gd.)

Asst. Pr
ov. Pros
ecutor

(also signed by JULIAN F. OLIVA, JR., counsel

)