NEARLY 8 YEARS AND COUNTING Vicente Ladlad (left), a peace consultant for the National Democratic Front of the Philippines, and his friends Alberto and Virginia Villamor are shown at one of their last in-person hearings at a Quezon City court in April 2019, shortly before the pandemic. The septuagenarianshave been detained since 2018 at Camp Bagong Diwa on charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives. They claim, however, that the guns and grenades seized from them were planted. —Photo courtesy of Kapatid
MANILA, Philippines — Authorities allegedly made up the informant whose testimony was used as the basis for obtaining the search warrant used against political prisoners Vicente Ladlad, Alberto Villamor and wife Virginia, according to the testimony presented by their lawyers in court on Tuesday.
Ladlad, 76, a peace consultant for the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), was arrested with the Villamors in his house in Novaliches, Quezon City on Nov. 8, 2018. All three were charged with illegal possession of firearms and grenades. They have since been detained at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City. Illegal possession of grenades is a nonbailable offense.
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