Military presence terrorizes villages

3 MIN READ

BAGUIO CITY — Indigenuous peoples from communities in different provinces of the Cordillera fear for their safety as more and more troopers from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) enter their terriories.

In Barangay Bulalacao, Mankayan, Benguet, residents expressed they were intimidated by the presence of soldiers. Especially that they were continuously threathened , harassed and intimidated by members of the AFP’s 50th Infantry Battalion of the 503rd Brigade commanded by a certain Lt. Abdul Rashid Avila since they arrived and set camp in their barangay hall.

On the accounts of residents, about 12 to 15 troopers arrived on March 2 and occupied the barangay hall. The soldiers called the community to a meeting right after and told the residents that they will stay there until the end of March.

They also said that they will conduct a census. After the said meeting, the troopers in full battle gear started entering houses and asked the names and number of people within a household, their jobs and the projects they are interested in.

On March 3 at around 9:00 AM, Avila with two of his men attempted to forcibly enter the offices of the Barangay Bulalacao Movement, Alyansa dagiti Pesante iti Taeng Kordilyera (APIT TAKO or Alliance of Peasants in the Cordillera Homeland), and Mankayan Quirino Tadian Cervantes Danggayan a Gunglo (Maquitacdg). The office also serves as the multipurpose hall of the community.

Norma Mo-oy, an organizer of APIT TAKO who was in their office that day refused to let the soldiers in. Avila alleged that many people who are not from the community visit and sleep in the said offices. Mo-oy insisted however that only those who are affilated to the said organizations come to their offices.

Avila claimed that they are in search of members of the New People’s Army (NPA) sighted passing through sitio Caew on their way to sitio Cabacab the night of March 1. He said that the NPAs were responsible for the disarming of a security guard of the Crescent Mining Company.

Residents said they did not hear of such incident. However, on March 4, Avila and his men visited the office again. They took pictures of Mo-oy, and Elma Awingan, also an organizer who came out of the office. Mo-oy informed Nordis that Barangay Captain Juanito Labi wrote a letter to Municipal Mayor Manalo Galuten asking for a pull-out of the AFP in the barangay. On March 2, 14 troopers belonging to the same AFP unit encamp in Barangay Bedbed.

Cordillera Human Rights Alliance (CHRA) Secretary General Jude Baggo said the same AFP forces led by Avila committed grave human rights violations in Pananuman, Tubo, Abra on the months of March to April 2008. The said soldiers were responsible for the bombings, harassment, threats, intimidation, illegal search and seizure, divestment of properties and desecration of indigenous political and social structures.

CHRA reported the presence of soldiers have caused a disruption of economic activities and also have sown fear in the residents as the soldiers go around their community with their firearms while conducting the survey.

This was transmitted Galuten to Lt. Avila to which he responded that they will not be following any orders from the mayor or the barangay because they have other orders to follow. When the barangay captain and councilors were informed about this, they retracted the letter because of fear of reprisal from Avila and his men.

Baggo said the actions undertaken by the troops of Avila in Bulalacao are similar to what other soldiers deployed in communities tha are priority targets of the Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo government’s anti insurgency program coded as Oplan Bantay Laya II do.

Baggo added that CHRA documented similar cases in Tanglag, Kalinga; Baay Licuan and Tubo in Abra. “There are also reports of threat, harassments and intimidations in the municipalities of Lubuagan and Balbalan in Kalinga. Same incidents were also documented and reported in other regions nationwide”, Baggo said. # Aldwin Quitasol