4 MIN READ

By KIMBERLIE QUITASOL
www.nordis.net

BAGUIO CITY — The immediate family and relatives of Anne “Annie” Tauli belied that she is a member of the New People’s Army (NPA). They also called for her safe journey back home.

In a statement, the Tauli’s said that contrary to several media and police reports, Annie did not surrender. They also stressed that “there is no reason for her to return to the fold of the law, being a law-abiding citizen.” The family also noted that she is active in public and family affairs in her hometown Besao and Baguio City, being the president of the Batil-ang Peypeyen Clan.

According to her family, a military chopper brought her to Baguio City on the morning of June 11 from Besao. The travel came after she agreed to meet with authorities “to clear herself of charges she is accused of.” Two relatives, including her sister former UN Special Rapporteur Vicky Tauli-Corpuz, accompanied her in the travel.

The police and military accused her of being the secretary of the Ilocos-Cordillera Regional Committee of the Communist Party of the Philippines. The authorities also alleged that she is part of the New People’s Army (NPA) finance group. They claim that she is the wife of slain CPP-NPA leader Julius Giron.

“[We]call for vigilance and support from friends and family to ensure that Annie returns home safely,” the statement said.

In a separate statement, members of the Batil-ang-Peypeyan Clan expressed alarm and deep concern about the incident.

“Her visibility in the communities of which she is part belies claims that she is a member of the New Peoples Army. Aside from living a very active public life, she also has a very active social media presence,” the clan statement said.

“To our minds, NPA members operate underground and live clandestinely. Our Lola/Aunt/Manang Annie has always had a conspicuous existence. You cannot miss her,” her clan added.

Forced to clear name

According to the Tauli family, Annie has been in Besao since the beginning of the enhanced community quarantine. Her relatives also noted that she is the subject of threats for a long time.

“These threats heightened in March after she was falsely linked to an incident that happened on March 13, wherein three alleged NPA members were killed in a police operation in Baguio City,” the statement said.

They said that after the incident, there were allegations that Annie narrowly escaped the raid. However, her family said she was in Besao the whole time. There was also a report about a shoot to kill order against her.

In the said date, a joint military and police operatives killed Giron, along with Dr. Ma. Lourdes Dineros Tangco and a certain Arvie Alarcon in the City. The government forces said they were serving warrants for various cases when the shoot-out happened—the CPP-NPA refuted their claims citing initial autopsy report.

Annie’s relatives revealed that there was an attempt to arrest her in March, which forced Tauli took sanctuary. “She has been under immense threat and pressure since then, which made her decide to clear her name,” they added.

These are the same things underscored by Annie when she spoke before the media during a press conference led by National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon.

“I came to clear my name from the charges, various charges that have been hounding me since I have been there as a law-abiding citizen in Besao for the past many years,” she said.

According to Esperon, Tauli peacefully presented herself to them so she could shed light on the allegations against her. He attested that Tauli is a decent person, revealing that she was his classmates in high school.

Intergenerational link

Batil-ang-Peypeyan Clan described Annie as “well-loved and revered” by the old and young members, a “logical intergenerational choice” to head their big family.

“She regularly visits and spends as much time as she could with the ageing members of our close-knit clan. At the same time, she celebrates with the younger ones when they welcome the birth of children, drink to birthdays, debuts, or wedding anniversaries, or toast to graduations, engagements, promotions, good health, or other blessings. You could say she is the cement that binds the young and old together,” they recalled.

According to them, she also frequented community events in her hometown.

“And it is not only in clan get-togethers that one may encounter her. For decades, she has always been actively participating in Besao community events whether organized by the “umili” or the municipal government, or whether held in Besao or elsewhere,” the clan statement said.

They underscored that Annie’s constant presence in gatherings like “birth of a child, the wedding of a community member, and the funeral” refutes the accusations lodged against her.

“We stand by our Manang/Auntie/Lola Annie. We vouch for her integrity as a good-standing member of the community and as a contributor to its constant progress. We call for an end to all false accusations against her immediately,” they declared.

The detainee is one of the ten children of Padi Alejandro Tauli and Cirena Ambucay of Besao. She finished her elementary education at Easter School in Baguio City. She was among the first batch of graduates from the Philippine Science High School in 1968.

Educator and development worker

According to the Cordillera Peoples Alliance, Annie has long been retired and went home to Besao where she was active in her clan and local activities. The most recent is a project that aimed to document the Batangan System (indigenous forest management system) of her hometown.

The group said she was among the 300 plus participants who founded the alliance in 1984 during the Cordillera People’s Congress.

Annie taught in Brent School up to 1980 coordinated for the Cordillera Studies Program of the Cordillera Schools Group based in Easter School up to 1984. She has done independent research and has written several papers on Cordillera history and issues. # with reports from Joseph Gregorio/nordis.net