Conrado Balweg

Conrado M. Balweg

Life

Early and personal life Balweg was born on December 29, 1942, in Buanao, (present-day) Malibcong. and came from a wealthy family in northern Abra. He had four brothers and three sisters.

In 2012, one of his children, a CPLA member, was integrated into the Philippine Army.

Balweg was later inspired by the heroism of tribal leader Macli-ing Dulag,

Balweg, the Ortegas, and Nilo Valerio, from being Roman Catholic priests, eventually became members of NPA, particularly the CPDF, Balweg, belonged to the Lumbaya Company,

Balweg had strongholds in the present-day Kalinga. Efforts to negotiate his surrender became difficult. By mid-1983, the Armed Forces of the Philippines offered efn-ua|Equivalent to US$11,111 by 1984; as he had been tagged as its most wanted.

Balweg revealed in an exclusive media interview that he was opting for a legal or open struggle rather than armed struggle while the latter was effective. Since as early as June, there were meetings and peace talks between Balweg's group and the government panel, including president Aquino and negotiator Butz Aquino (her brother-in-law), in the Cordillera mountains, in an attempt to resolve problems regarding insurgency. Discussed were plans for a ceasefire In a traditional ceremony known as a sipat that ended hostilities, Such provision on the regional autonomy was likewise promoted by highlander organizations including CPLA.

Rivalry between NPA and CPLA In June 1986, an eight-day meeting between Balweg and the NPA resolved some of their differences and they "agreed to be military allies and forge tighter unity."

Nevertheless, Balweg, since leaving the NPA, was publicly renounced by the group for his abandonment of the latter's cause. In a media interview in 1998, Jovencio, who had not met Conrado since 1986, said the latter has long betrayed the Tingguians, and criticized a radio interview by the latter who said that political leaders should be educated.

The military had since blamed the attack on the NPA, He later confessed to a retaliatory killing—"a moral and logical answer to Ngayaan's open crime" against CPLA—in his statement, while saying that the June attack was a declaration of war against the CPLA. In response, Jovencio, then with the NPA's Abra province command, said the CPLA were mistaken for the military and became a target of the attack.

In 1989, the Supreme Court issued an arrest order for Balweg and his aide for their refusal to answer charges in the killing; the order was lifted after two months. During the election campaign, the two accused each other of harassing the voters. It was believed that Balweg's loss was due to perceptions that he might rule the province through his militia.

On Balweg's birthday in 1999, his family visited their ancestral house in Malibcong. The following day, he and Jovencio met the whole day to discuss their ideological differences. The leaders of CBA and CPLA condemned the killing. on January 8, 2000, which was attended by 2,000 members and supporters of the CPLA. Though some local politicians expressed their condolences, none of the key political figures appeared on his interment.

Suspects The police initially reported that Jovencio was the suspect.

On January 4, 2000, Jovencio, Tauro, and four other companions (along with several John Does), were charged in court with murder. Likewise, at least 13 non-government organization and church workers, and activist leaders in the Ilocos Region were implicated. More than eight were arrested, including three pastors of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines. Five cases were filed before the Bangued Regional Trial Court (RTC); by September 2007, all of these were dismissed for lack of evidence.

On May 18, 2009, Jovencio, along with his wife, was captured in Baguio. All criminal cases against him, including his involvement in his brother's death, were dismissed, and he was freed from detention after being ordered by the Bangued RTC on July 19, 2011.

In October 2010, Tauro was killed in a gun battle with the military while leading an attack in Licuan-Baay.

In popular culture Balweg's life as a priest-turned-rebel was the subject of the 1987 biopic Balweg: Rebel Priest, directed by Butch Perez, with Phillip Salvador playing the lead role.