Davao City's Descent into Madness 
Davao Children Terrorized in Gov’t Raid

In the most chilling example yet of Davao City's descent into fascistic madness, a group of soldiers and policemen raided a youth camp, roused the children from sleep, poked guns at them, and threatened to kill some of them. A week after the incident, many of the children are still suffering from symptoms of trauma. Critics say this is what a community gets when the military is given the license to run roughshod over civil liberties.

By ROLANDO PINSOY and GILBERT PACIFICAR 
Bulatlat.com   

Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte (left photo), seen here during an anti-terrorism rally (right photo) in April, denounced terror but he allows Task Force Davao, a group of hundreds of soldiers now prowling the city streets, to run roughshod over civil liberties. He defended the soldiers and policemen who raided the youth camp, saying there was no harassment or intimidation. Photos by Carlos H. Conde

DAVAO CITY – Davao prides itself of being the country's "most child-friendly city." Its programs undertaken with the Unicef, for one, have been adjudged as exemplary. It is a recognition that the city government has been crowing about.

Behind this façade, however, lies some unsettling truths that directly contradicts the image the city tries to project -- among them the fact that a number of children have died in the hands of the so-called Davao Death Squad, a group whose methods the mayor, Rodrigo Duterte, has publicly endorsed.

Juvenile delinquency and child abuse are rampant in this city, which explains why there are a number of NGOs dealing with these children. One such NGO, the Kabataan Consortium, a group of child-focused organizations serving the marginalized, exploited and neglected children, organized in May a five-day youth camp precisely to deal with the traumas the minors suffered in the hands of their families and the society at large.

State of fascism

Reflecting the state of fascism that has crept into the city, the participants to the youth camp - 84 children and youths aged between 12 and 21, many of them streetchildren, child laborers and prostituted children - held in a remote district here were subjected to the very trauma they were coming to terms with.

At around 4:30 in the morning of May 24, a composite team of about 200 fully armed soldiers and paramilitary men led by one Captain Torres barged into a farmhouse where the youth camp was held. The troops came without warning, let alone search or arrest warrants.

The raiders roused all the children, who were sleeping in tents, poking rifles at them. They shouted and ordered everyone to put their hands on their heads and to walk toward the farmhouse. Others were told to lie prostrate on the ground and to put their hands on their backs.

One child was grabbed in the collar by one of the soldiers. A girl was commanded to come out of her tent immediately, in spite of her plea to allow her to wear her bra and change her sleepwear.

A boy tried to get his slippers but was confronted by a soldier, who threatened to shoot him.  "Run and I'll shoot you!" the soldier screamed at the boy in Visayan.

Another minor was struck on the foot with the butt of an Armalite. The soldier then cocked the gun and aimed it at the boy. He ordered the young man to put his hands on his back.

At the farmhouse, the boys were ordered to squat, with their hands behind their heads. The girls from the tents were told to get inside the farmhouse.

On the second floor of the farmhouse, soldiers continued searching, roused another group of girls from sleep and ordered them to go down to the first floor where all the other campers and kitchen staff were squatting.

The soldiers searched the area for almost two hours, rummaging through the belongings of the participants. They took five cellular phones from the camp organizers, a tape recorder and an Instamatic camera. They also took video footage of the victims.

The soldiers found nothing and left the camp at about 6:30 in the morning. But before they left, the youth camp organizers demanded to know what was the raid all about. The soldiers said they were just responding to intelligence reports that a group of armed strangers from Davao del Sur were transporting weapons and bombs near the area.

Apology

The organizers demanded an apology and Captain Torres, the leader of the raiding team, obliged. In a halting voice, he apologized to the children but explained that "it is our primordial duty to protect the lives and properties of the many." He said the raid was part of their law-enforcement campaign since terrorists attacked Davao City in March and April this year. Torres also said that the raiding team were composed of police and Army soldiers from the 73rd Infantry Brigade, which was based nearby.

But a few days after the raid, Col. Eduardo Del Rosario, commander of the 73IB, denied his unit's hand in the raid, saying the soldiers only provided support to the PNP and the Davao City Police Auxillary Group (DCPAG), who, according to him, actually conducted the raid. He said the soldiers were only on the perimeter while the police were the ones who stormed the farmhouse.

Davao City Police Office chief Isidro Lapena and Task Force Davao Col. Gaudencio Pangilinan, however, denied the police's involvement in the operation. Task Force Davao is the unit formed after the March and April bombings to supposedly secure the city and go after the bombers. However, its methods - like raiding houses without warrants in the middle of the night -- have been criticized by human rights groups.

But regardless of his denial, Colonel Del Rosario insisted that the raid was "done professionally, that there was no harassment, no physical abuse and that the rules of engagement were followed." In an interview with the media, he even accused the NGOs who criticized the raid as being front organizations of the National Democratic Front (NDF).

Del Rosario heads the same military unit responsible for forming the Alamara, a group of Lumad bandits and vigilantes that has figured in several incidents of massacres, harassment of legal organizations and anti-communist witch-hunting in the region.  

No support from Duterte

The children did not even receive any support from Mayor Rodrigo Duterte. A local paper reported that, in the mayor's "initial assessment" of the raid, "there were no extreme measures, no brutality, no cruelty, no threat, and no intimidation." In the same breath, Duterte said ample time should be allotted for the investigation of the case.

Shirley, a 16-year-old participant, said she was saddened by Duterte's pronouncement that there was no harassment in the youth camp. "Because he is the mayor he should protect the youth. Is this what a child-friendly city is? Is this right?" she lamented during a press conference on May 28.

In the same press conference, Bernie Mondragon, executive director of the Kabataan Consortium, said the testimonies of adults and children who were in the camp attest that there were abuses committed during the raid.

Atty. Napoleon Sango, legal counsel of the NGO, said they would file a case against the PNP and 73rd IB elements responsible for the raid. He said possible cases, like child abuse or "any act prejudicial to the interest of the child" and other similar charges, will be filed.

Charged to be filed

Faustina Carreon, executive director of the Kaugmaon Foundation, a member of the consortium, said that they have been conducting youth camps since 1997 "and it is my first time to experienced a raid." She said she still suffers from the trauma of the experience.

Another facilitator, Henry Delafuente, an officer of Knight Hawk Rescue Team, criticized the PNP and the military for poor intelligence. "Their information must be doubled-checked or verified," he said.

"Having come from among the most marginalized segments of the society, they (the children) are supposed to be protected by laws which provide for the 'Special Protection of Filipino Children' as covered under Republic Act No. 7610 and yet, how ironic that the military and police forces who are supposed to be helping in its implementation have become the very apparatuses culpable of subjecting them to a state of multiple victimization," said the Kabataan Consortium in a statement.

City Councilor Angela Librado of Bayan Muna urged the City Council and the Commission of Human Rights to conduct an investigation into the raid. Librado, who chairs the council's Committee on Women, Children and Family Relations, described the raid as an act of terrorism.

"While I should give (the military) the benefit of the doubt that this was an isolated incident, experience would tell me otherwise," Librado said, alluding to the city's militarization since the bombings. "When there is an increase in number and activities of military personnel in a locality, there is a corresponding increase of the incidents of abuse of authority."

On the other hand, Councilor Leo Avila III submitted a resolution asking the Council’s committee on civil, political and human rights, as well as the CHR, to conduct an investigation. The CHR has investigated the incident and found that there, indeed, were instances of violations of human rights.

The Kabataan Consortium, meanwhile, said the children are still in a "vulnerable condition." Some have developed signs of "psychosocial disturbances," such as unexplained fever and stomach pains. One such child is five-year-old Leo, who is still suffering from recurring headaches, chilling and vomiting. Roused from sleep during the raid, he found the barrel of an Armalite pointed right at his forehead. Bulatlat.com

Back to top

We want to know what you think of this article.