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Abra folk, LGU call for AFP pullout

BAGUIO CITY (Sept. 9) — In order to restore peace and order in the province residents of Baay-Licuan and Lacub, together with local officials of Abra are calling for the complete and permanent pullout of elements of the 41st Infantry Battalion of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) due to continuous human rights violations and killings perpetrated against innocent civilians.

In a resolution, residents of Barangay Lenneng, Baay-Licuan and Barangay Guinguinabang, Lacub supported the “Peace Covenant” signed by the 27 mayors and Governor Vicente Valera calling for the permanent pull out of the 41st IB in the province.

Ernesto Quinto, chair of the Lenneng, Kileng Timpuyog Farmers Association (LEKITIFA) said during a press conference on September 7 here in Baguio that peasant folk in his barangay and nearby barangays of Lacub suffer grave threats, illegal arrest, search, detention, coercion, intimidation, destruction of property and even death at the hands of soldiers deployed in the province. Quinto is a former barangay captain of Lenneng.

“The soldiers should be removed from our province so we can tend to our rice fields and pasture land, free from fear and human rights violations,” Quinto said in Ilokano.

The resolution also mentioned that soldiers steal the people’s livestock and crops, accuse local residents as NPAs or NPA supporters and pretend to be NPA guerillas to spy on the community. The resolution also mentioned that one resident even suffered a miscarriage due to fear of the soldier’s presence in their community.

The resolution stressed that elements of the 41st IB should answer for their offences, even after they are transferred.

The residents submitted the said resolution to concerned government agencies and local government units of Abra for action and to different non-government organizations and people’s organizations for support.

Arnel Balucas of the Abra Human Rights Advocates (AHRA) said that the AFP’s list of offenses against the people of Abra is growing every year. He stressed that this is alarming because even with the barangay resolution and peace covenant, the AFP continues to harass and kill civilians.

Balucas said that AHRA documented 14 cases of human rights violations from 2003 to 2004 in Tubo and Sallapadan alone. He said that there are other undocumented cases in many other municipalities of the province.

He further challenged 41st IB’s 2nd Lt. Victor Leopoldo and his men to face Lenneng residents in a dialogue on September 24, in Bangued. The dialogue, he said, is an attempt to put an end to the violence in the said areas. He added that residents are hoping for a positive response from the 41st IB.

The Cordillera Human Rights Alliance (CHRA) in a statement, expressed support to the Abra people’s call for the pull out of the 41st IB in their province. CHRA mentioned in their statement that the deployment of the 41st IB in Abra coincides with the entry of big mining firms there. The statement mentioned that there are four mining applications covering the municipalities of Baay-Licuan and Lacub.

Balucas added that there is a direct correlation of massive deployment of AFP troops in certain areas and the entry of development projects for implementation as proven for years now, especially in the Cordillera experience. He cited the Chico Dam and Cellophil Logging during the Marcos regime. He stressed that the deployment of AFP troops aims to stifle the growing struggle of the Cordillera people against destructive projects like mining, dam, and logging. # Kimberlie Olmaya Ngabit-Quitasol for NORDIS

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