This story
was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly
newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. V, No. 35, October 9-15, 2005
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
CL: From Rice Fields into 'Killing Fields'?
Eight politically-motivated
killings have been reported in Central Luzon in just over a month. The cases
have been reported in the aftermath of the assignment of Maj. Gen. Jovito
Palparan as commander of the 7th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army based
in Fort Magsaysay, Palayan City in Nueva Ecija, Central Luzon.
BY AUBREY SC MAKILAN Eight politically-motivated
killings have been reported in Central Luzon in just over a month. The cases
have been reported in the aftermath of the assignment of Maj. Gen. Jovito
Palparan as commander of the 7th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army based
in Fort Magsaysay, Palayan City in Nueva Ecija, Central Luzon. Human rights groups fear
that with Palparan at the helm of the military in the region, a crackdown has
been put in place – similar to the campaigns of suppression that had happened in
Mindoro and Eastern Visayas where the controversial general spent long stints as
Army commander. Upon his assignment in Eastern Visayas in February this year, he
vowed to stop the communist rebellion in six months. The general has been
accused by rights watchdogs and peasant organizations as the "Butcher of Mindoro."
He has also been investigated by the justice department, Commission on Human
Rights and Congress. "Terror"
in four provinces Tarlac The latest victim was
Rolando Mariano, 53, leader of the Anakpawis (toiling masses) party-list chapter
in Gerona, Tarlac (138 kms north f Manila). He was also the municipal
coordinator of Bayan Muna (People First) in Victoria, Tarlac (141 kms from
Manila) and former head of the Tarlac Electric Cooperative 1 (Tarelco) Employees
Union. Mariano was shot at 9 a.m.
last Oct. 7 by three unidentified men on a motorcycle while on his way to the
Tarelco 1 field office in Poblacion, Victoria, Tarlac. Mariano was on board the
company vehicle with four others. According to an Anakpawis
statement, Mariano sustained seven bullet wounds – five on the chest, two on the
back. He died on the spot but his body was still brought to the Talon General
Hospital in Tarlac City. Fact-finding investigations on Mariano's death are
ongoing, human rights workers from Karapatan-Tarlac reported. Nueva
Ecija In Nueva Ecija, three
leaders have also been killed. Last Sept. 12, Reiner
"Alvin" Cusio, 33, was abducted by armed men in Guimba (153 kms north of
Manila). He was the chair of the Ugnayan ng Magsasaka ng Pasong lntsik and San
Rafael (Umagpas, Association of Farmers in Pasong Intsik and San Rafael), a
local affiliate of the Alyansa ng Magsasaka sa Gitnang Luson (AMGL, Alliance of
Farmers in Central Luzon). These farmers, including Cusio, are beneficiaries and
petitioners of Hacienda Gabaldon in Barangay (village) Pasong Intsik. Witnesses said Cusio was
last seen being forced by armed men to enter a dirty white, Revo-type vehicle
with plate number WLT 753. His body was found the following day in Barangay
(village) Kalikid, Cabanatuan City (115 kms north of Manila). Residents also reported
that after the 71st Infantry Batallion's (IB) camp under Lt. Virgilio Viterbo
was set up in Pasong Intsik, the soldiers allegedly started harassing the
farmers of Barangays Manggang Marikit, Bagong Baryo and Yuson (Mambuyo). The
farmers were also beneficiaries of the said hacienda. Three weeks later, Bayan
Muna local leader Celia Esteban, 54, was abducted allegedly by soldiers last
Oct. 2 at around 7 p.m. from her residence in Barangay Lennec, Guimba, also in
Nueva Ecija. Ranalyn, 15, the victim's
daughter, said that her mother was resting in their house after an ulcer attack
on the night of Oct. 2 when abducted by a man and a woman who pretended to be
relatives. Esteban was dragged out of the house and forced to enter a light blue
van with plate number WKI 059. Esteban's relatives also
noted that soldiers of the 71st IB visited her house four times last September,
accusing her of being on the military's Order of Battle. The 71st IB patrols
Guimba and Cuyapo towns as part of their Reengineered Special Operations Team (RSOT)
program, the relatives said. Her body was found only
last Oct. 6 in neighboring Tarlac province. At around 9:45 p.m. on the
same day of Esteban's abduction, Anakpawis municipal coordinator Armando Javier,
36, was shot dead inside his home in Barangay Sta. Clara, Cuyapo, less than a
kilometer away from Guimba. He sustained nine gunshot wounds. The walls and some houses
in Guimba were also painted with, "Kung ikaw ay supporter ng NPA, ikaw na ang
susunod (If you are a supporter of the NPA, you are already next.) Bataan Jose Levimar Rieza, a
resident of Bgy. Tala Orani Bulacan was killed by still unidentified assassins
last Sept. 24. According to the autopsy report, Rieza sustained 11 shots from a
.45 caliber pistol. A few days before his
death, soldiers had taken pictures of Rieza, who was then working in the Jing Co
farm. They chided him, "Ikaw nga ang gustong-gusto kong kunan ng picture (you
are the one whose picture I really like to take)." The soldiers also took
pictures of his wife who was there at that time. On Sept. 27 in nearby
Barangay Pag-asa of the same town, Mario Tuvera was arrested allegedly by
soldiers belonging to the 24th IB. His 12-year old son who was with him
scavenging at that time saw his arrest. He was found dead two days later in a
nearby dam. A fact-finding mission was
organized by the Central Luzon chapter of Karapatan (Alliance for the
Advancement of Peoples' Rights) to investigate the twin killings. The mission,
however, did not expect that another killing was about to take place. On Oct. 1, tricycle driver
Edmer Rufino was shot dead allegedly again by soldiers. He was reportedly killed
after a heated argument with a soldier allegedly for driving the pick-up vehicle
of the fact-finding mission team. Bulacan Last Sept. 13, Leodegario
Punzal, leader of Anakpawis Partylist in Norzagaray, Bulacan was killed by armed
men while working on his shop. Eleven days earlier, 20-year old Ferdinand Viola,
a tricycle driver, of Gulod Pinaod, San Ildefonso, Bulacan (66 kms from Manila),
was wounded in a crossfire between armed groups in Barangay Maasim of the same
town. Viola, who managed to run
away from the encounter, was shot in the back, however. He was brought to the
San Miguel Emergency Hospital for treatment, where he was arrested by the police
even without a warrant. After a murder case was
filed against him, Viola was taken to the Bulacan provincial jail where he is
currently detained.
Pampanga Meanwhile, 60-year old
Perla Rodriguez, farmer, of Barangay Divisoria, Mexico, Pampanga, and her
33-year old daughter Jacqueyn were allegedly harassed and threatened by four
soldiers of the 69th IB last Sept. 22. Jacqueyn said the military
suspected her mother of being a member of the NPA. Perla's peasant organization,
Aguman daring Maglalautang Capampangan (AMC or Alliance of Kapampangan Farmers),
was also suspected to have links with the NPA. From rice
fields to killing fields In a privilege speech last
Oct. 4, Anakpawis Party-List Rep. Rafael Mariano condemned the spate of
killings, saying "Central Luzon's rice fields have been turned into killing
fields!" Mariano, a Novo Ecijano
farmer, held Palparan responsible for these killings and asked for his removal
from the region, an investigation of the cases and his prosecution. Meanwhile, Joseph Canlas,
Alyansa ng Mgabubukid sa Gitnang Luson (AMGL) chair and Anakpawis regional
coordinator, told Bulatlat that the "terror" that is being felt in their region
at present is the same pattern of the horror experienced by the people in the
Southern Tagalog and Eastern Visayas regions where Palparan was previously
assigned. Canlas also criticized
Palparan's denial of being responsible for the killings and other human rights
violations. He said that aside from the patterns of killings and abductions,
these "terrors" happen in every place under Palparan's leadership. Although living in fear,
Canlas said that nothing can stop them from fighting for justice. Church and rights groups
and other organizations are planning to hold a forum, a dialog with the military
and protest actions in the days ahead. Bulatlat © 2005 Bulatlat
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8 political
killings reported since September
Bulatlat