This story
was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly
newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com).
Vol. VI, No. 24, July 26, 2006
Anti-pollution Leader
Abducted in Bulacan BY
ABNER BOLOS Less than six hours after
President Arroyo praised an Army general for “fighting the enemies” in Central
Luzon, another progressive leader was abducted in Bulacan province by suspected
soldiers. Four armed men in military
uniform abducted Ernesto Santiago, 46, from his home in sitio Tulikan, brgy.
Dulong Malabon, Pulilan town, Bulacan at 11 p.m., a few hours after President
Arroyo’s State of the Nation Address on July 24. The victim is a leader of
the Koalisyon Laban sa Polusyon, (Coalition Against Pollution) a local
organization protesting some factories’ alleged dumping of toxic waste in the
irrigation system, affecting the rice farms in several villages in the towns of
Pulilan and Calumpit (41 and 48 kms. north of Metro Manila). The victim’s wife Juliana
said the armed men barged into their home as they were sleeping with their two
children. Two of the abductors entered their room, pointed their guns and
ordered them to lie face down. The armed men told her husband to get up, then
took him with them. Jennifer Santiago, 22,
daughter of the victim who lives in an adjacent house, said she saw armed men
wearing ski masks outside her parents’ house poking the barrels of their guns to
peep through the curtains. She said she heard the abductors’ vehicle drove away.
The group is being assisted by the Alyansa ng
Magbubukid sa Bulakan (AMB), a provincial chapter of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng
Pilipinas (KMP). AMB spokesperson Ricardo
Diaz said the victim is the 27th person abducted in Bulacan since
January 2006. In her SONA, Arroyo
condemned the political killings and praised Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan,
commander of the 7th Infantry Division which covers Central Luzon.
Palparan has been blamed by activists and families of victims for the killings
and abductions by suspected soldiers under his command in Central Luzon,
Southern Tagalog, and Eastern Visayas regions. “Sa mga lalawigang
sakop ng 7th Division, nakikibaka sa kalaban si Jovito Palparan. Hindi siya
aatras hanggang makawala sa gabi ng kilabot ang mga pamayanan at maka-ahon sa
bukang-liwayway ng hustisya at kalayaan, ” (In the provinces covered by the
7th Division, Jovito Palparan is fighting the enemies. He will not
back down until the communities have been freed from the night of terror and
brought into the dawn of justice and freedom) Arroyo said in her SONA.
Gitnang Luson News Service/ Posted by Bulatlat © 2006 Bulatlat
■
Alipato Media Center Permission is granted to reprint or redistribute this article, provided its author/s and Bulatlat are properly credited and notified.
Gitnang Luson News Service
Posted by Bulatlat,
10:30 a.m., July 26, 2006