MANILA, Philippines – Armed men abducted on Sunday, February 2, a former communist guerrilla and current nominee of the Magsasaka party-list in the May elections, a statement from the party said.
Men aboard two motorcycles opened fire beside the car that Lejun Dela Cruz was driving at around 11 am on Sunday somewhere in Cainta, Rizal. Dela Cruz was able to flee the scene but was eventually chased by the same men, according to Magsaksaka secretary-general General Du.
The party said it lost contact with him until around 5 pm, when they received information that he was in police custody.
Recounting what Dela Cruz had told him, Du told Rappler that Dela Cruz was about to drive his car from a friend’s house in Cainta when he was approached by a man pretending to ask about real estate in the area. Dela Cruz, though, noticed a gun bulk in the man’s waist, which prompted him to start driving.
Two other men aboard motorcycles parked nearby opened fire; they later turned out to be policemen, Du said. After they opened fire, Dela Cruz drove his car far from the scene, but the men gave chase from Cainta all the way to Pasig.
When he hit a dead-end, another car that was chasing him blocked Dela Cruz, Du said. A man in civilian clothes came out and introduced himself as a policeman from Marikina supposedly with an arrest warrant against him.
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Dela Cruz told Du that he was made to squat for two hours before the cops decided to bring him to the Amang Rodriguez Memorial Hospital in Marikina, where he is as of writing.
“It’s a botched assassination,” Du told Rappler. “He was supposedly being arrested over 1992 case. We intend to file a case against the police, but for now our priority is to secure Lejun.”
Dela Cruz is a son of Nilo Dela Cruz, former commander of the Alex Boncayao Brigade (ABB) communist hit squad. Lejun had also served in the ABB leadership until he returned to the fold of the law more than two decades ago.
Dela Cruz is the third nominee of Magsasaka. – Rappler.com