Labor center Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) strongly condemned the illegal arrest of their Chief Legal Counsel Atty. Remigio Saladero Jr., by the police and military.

“PNP Chief Jesus Versoza is accountable for the Gestapo-like arrest of Atty. Saladero. We will hold the PNP, AFP and the Arroyo government liable for any untoward incident that may happen to Atty. Saladero because of his frailty health condition aggravated by his unjust arrest and detention,” said KMU Chairperson Elmer Labog.

Saladero was arrested in a Gestapo-manner at his residence in Antipolo City yesterday afternoon at around 1pm. His personal belongings in the house including a desktop PC and a laptop were also taken by his captors.

His arresting officers were identified as RIID4A F. Fernando and PO1 R. Osis. The arrest was conducted by  joint elements of RIID 4A, PIB, Rizal PP0 418th PPMG, Antipolo and Military Intelligence Group 4A-Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philipppines (ISAFP).

He was detained at the Camp Vicente Lim in Laguna last night and was transferred to Calapan, Oriental Mindoro this morning for a hearing on his case.

Atty. Saladero was arrested based on charges of multiple murder and frustrated murder supposedly committed in the province of Mindoro, but PNP Southern Luzon Command (SolCom) Chief Ricardo Padilla denies until now the details of his charges.

“These are fabricated cases concocted by the PNP and AFP to persecute leaders of the progressive movement. Atty. Saladero is a respected labor lawyer and he is in charge of more than 700 labor cases.”

Labog said that Saladero’s arrest and detention is the latest in a series of legal offensives and harassment against KMU and progressive people’s movement initiated by the Arroyo government. “This is an outright political persecution of our legal counsel in an attempt to divert public attention away from the ongoing congressional hearings on the corruption of the so-called Euro Generals.”

He was also recently charged with arson, destruction of property and conspiracy to commit rebellion as he was accused of being an NPA member who blew up a Globe cell site in Batangas on August 2.

At around 7am this morning, the police also took his vehicle, a red Toyota Corolla and was escorted by a government vehicle with plate number SG2-602.

Saladero, a San Beda law graduate, was one of the top 20 when he took the bar in 1984; he was also a law professor at the Lyceum and the Dominican College.