This story
was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly
newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. V, No. 31, September 11-17, 2005
Abra Execs, Village Leaders
Call for Troops’ Pullout Fed
up with human rights violations, Abra Gov. Vicente Valera and 27 mayors under
him have signed a “Peace Covenant” calling for the permanent pull out of the
41st Infantry Battalion of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). In turn,
the residents of Baay-Licuanan, Lenneng, and Guinguinabang, Lacub, all villages
of Abra province, passed a resolution in support of the covenant.
By Kimberlie Olmaya Ngabit-Quitasol BAGUIO CITY — Fed up with
human rights violations, Abra Gov. Vicente Valera and 27 mayors under him have
signed a “Peace Covenant” calling for the permanent pull out of the 41st
Infantry Battalion of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. In turn, the
residents of Barangays Baay-Licuanan, Lenneng, and Guinguinabang, Lacub, Abra
province (more than 300 kms north of Manila) passed a resolution in support of
the covenant. Ernesto Quinto, chair of
the Lenneng, Kileng Timpuyog Farmers Association (LEKITIFA) said during a press
conference on Sept. 7 in Baguio City, peasant folk in his and nearby barangays
(villages) of Lacub have experienced grave threats, illegal arrest and search,
detention, coercion, intimidation, destruction of property and even death at the
hands of soldiers deployed in the province. Quinto is also the former barangay
captain (village chief) 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 residents also accused
soldiers of stealing their livestock and crops even as the latter threaten local
residents of arrest for being alleged members or supporters of the New People’s
Army (NPA). According to them, soldiers pretend to be NPA guerillas to spy on
the community. A resident even suffered miscarriage due to fear of the soldiers,
they said. The resolution said that
soldiers from the 41st IB should answer for their offenses, even
after they are transferred. The residents sent the
resolution to various government agencies and Abra’s municipal governments for
action as well as to NGOs and people’s organizations for support. Arnel Balucas of the Abra
Human Rights Advocates (AHRA) said that the AFP’s list of offenses against Abra
residents is growing longer every year. This is alarming, he said, because even
with the barangay resolution and peace covenant, AFP troops continue to harass
and kill civilians. Balucas said AHRA
documented 14 cases of human rights violations from 2003 to 2004 in Tubo and
Sallapadan villages alone. He also said there are undocumented cases in other
municipalities. He challenged 2nd
Lt. Victor Leopoldo, head of the 41st IB Philippine Army, and his men
to face Lenneng residents in a dialogue on Sept. 24 in Bangued, the provincial
capital. The dialogue, he said, is an attempt to put an end to the violence. He
added residents are hoping for a positive response from Leopoldo. In a separate statement,
the Cordillera Human Rights Alliance (CHRA) expressed support to the Abra
people’s call for the soldiers’ pull out. CHRA said the soldiers’ deployment in
Abra coincides with the entry of big mining firms there. There are four mining
applications covering the municipalities of Baay-Licuan and Lacub, the alliance
said. Balucas said there have
always been direct relations between the massive troop deployment and entry of
government-supported projects such as the Chico Dam and Cellophil logging during
the Marcos regime. He said the new military deployment aims to stifle the
growing resistance of Cordillera residents against destructive projects like
mining, dams and logging operations. Nordis/Bulatlat © 2004 Bulatlat
■
Alipato Publications Permission is granted to reprint or redistribute this article, provided its author/s and Bulatlat are properly credited and notified.
Sign Peace
Covenant
NORTHERN DISPATCH
Posted by Bulatlat