This story
was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly
newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. V, No. 42, November
27-Dcember 3, 2005
HUMAN RIGHTS
WATCH
Bullets Rain Over Palo Farmers
"Without any warning, they
just started shooting at us with their armalite rifles, followed by six to nine
explosions from M203 grenade launchers. I shouted at the top of my lungs:
Hindi kami kalaban, magsasaka lang kami, sir!...Tama na! (We're not enemies,
we are just farmers…stop it!) But they continued peppering us with bullets,"
said Joselito Tobe.
BY
Johann Hein B. Arpon
Bulatlat
"Without any warning, they just started shooting
at us with their armalite rifles, followed by six to nine explosions from M203
grenade launchers. I shouted at the top of my lungs: Hindi kami kalaban,
magsasaka lang kami, sir!...Tama na! (We're not enemies, we are just
farmers…stop it!) But they continued peppering us with bullets," said Joselito
Tobe.
A shrapnel from one of the explosions hit
Richard Margallo, who even heard soldiers shouting "Sige, tumakbo kayo!"
(go, run) and "Patayin na lahat!" (kill them all).
Tobe and Margallo were among the wounded
survivors of what they called the November 21 dawn massacre of helpless peasants
by soldiers of the 19th Infantry Battalion and the 8th Infantry Division in
Barangay (village) San Agustin, Palo, Leyte. Leyte is located in central
Philippines, __ south of Manila.
Tobe is an organizer of Bayan Muna and staff of
the human rights group Concerned Citizens for Justice and Peace (CCJP) while
Margallo is president of the San Agustin Farmers Beneficiaries Cooperative.
Seven peasants were killed including a
seven-months-old-pregnant woman. Eleven others were wounded, eight were
arrested but only six were detained, while two were still missing. Eighteen
others were also unaccounted for.
Those killed were: Gerry Almerino, pregnant Alma
Bartoline, both were of Barangay Capirawan, Palo, and Bayan Muna members;
Eufemia Burra, 51, of Brgy. Teraza, Palo, her son Bernabe Jr., Eric Nogal, Roel
Obejas, Richard Tante, of brgy. San Antonio.
Those who were wounded are the following: Ramy
Cumpio, 36, organizer of Bayan Muna party list, Mark Bonsa, 23, Ferdinand
Montanejos, Bernabe Burra Sr., Ranilo Orseda, 42, Berlito Barbosa, Ismael Regato,
22, Cora Bernabe, 52, Richard Margallo, 30, male, chairman of SAFaBenCo.,
Christopher Bayase, Ariel Timbo Capatoy.
Those who were arrested and being detained at
the Palo Police Station were: Joselito Tobe, resident of Brgy. Cabuynan, Tanauan,
Leyte, and member of CCJP-Metro Tacloban and Bayan Muna, Arniel Dizon, Fe Muriel
Obejas of Brgy. San Agustin, Palo, Eulogio Pilapil of Brgy. San Agustin, Artemio
Amante of Brgy. Capirawan, Baltazar Mardo, of Brgy. Salvacion, Alang-alang, and
ASFA President.
Legitimate military operation?
The military claimed it was a legitimate
military operation. In a sworn affidavit, 2nd Lt. Ruel Adrian Benedicto said
that on Nov. 20, 9 pm, they were informed by the 802nd Brigade that there were
armed groups in San Agustin. He formed two squads to "verify" the report and
reached the area at 2:30 am, Nov. 21. They positioned themselves at 30 meters
from the "kamalig" (hut) and allegedly saw people cooking food, singing
and even heard someone chambering guns.
At 5:45 a.m., their position was allegedly
discovered by the people in the hut, who allegedly fired the first shots, which
forced them to return fire. The "gunfight" lasted for about 45 minutes,
according to Benedicto.
The survivors and the San Agustin barangay
captain however contradicted the military statement, and said that there were no
members of the New People's Army (NPA) there nor were the farmers armed. They
said that they were there for a "balik-uma" or land positioning led by
members of the San Agustin Farmers Beneficiaries Cooperative (SABFC). The
activity was supported by the Alang-alang Small Farmers Association (ASFA) and
the Bayan Muna chapter in Capirawan, Palo, Leyte.
Accounts of survivors and
witnesses
At 3 p.m. on Nov. 20, some farmers belonging to
the Alang-alang Small Farmers Association (ASFA) started converging at the
kamalig and members of SAFaBenCo and Bayan Muna joined them.
Other farmers arrived a 4 a.m. on Nov. 21. Media practitioners including this writer, and Bantay Jazmin
Bonifacio of DYDW were also invited to cover the balik-uma.
At around 5 a.m., the women were preparing
breakfast at the kamalig, while some were still sleeping, others were
having coffee and already preparing to work on the farm.
Bayan Muna organizer Jomar Cortaga saw
silhouettes in the rice paddies, which he checked and confirmed to be other
people. He shouted: "May tawo!" (There are people!)
Ramy Cumpio saw the soldiers and was going to
organize a team to negotiate with the soldiers, when they were fired at with
M-16 armalite rifles and a succession of grenade launchers. Some were
immediately hit including Alma Bartoline, a 7-month old pregnant woman who was
still asleep in the kamalig. From the account of those who were in the
kamalig, the soldiers were only 30 meters away. The shooting, they
reported, lasted for about 15 minutes.
Five peasants were dead on the spot. The wounded
were brought to the Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center (EVRMC). Two women,
Burra and the pregnant Bartoline, died on arrival.
The military claimed to have "captured" eight
people including Joselito Tobe, organizer of Bayan Muna and staff of CCJP who
was hit repeatedly by a soldier with an M-16 rifle butt in his eye and different
parts of the body.
Missing detainees and
survivors
As of this writing, two of those arrested were
missing: Bernardo Lantajo and Marivic Macawile of Brgy. Utap, Tacloban City,
and also a member and organizer of the urban poor group Kadamay and Bayan Muna.
The Palo PNP claimed they had no official record
of their whereabouts. Some witnesses said that the military took them. This
information was corroborated by the other detainees who said that Marivic was
still with them when they were brought to the Bulwagan ng Katarungan (Hall of
Justice) for inquest proceedings.
Tobe recalled that they had both police and
military escorts. "..but when we reached the fiscals office, Marivic was no
longer with us. Then on our way back to the Palo Municipal Jail, Bernardo
Lantajo was still with us but when we were brought to our cell, he was no longer
with us. At that time, the military was still with us".
However, Major Neneveigh Alcovindas, unit
commander of 34th Civil Relation Service (CRS) of the Civil Affairs Unit (CAU)
denied that they took the two, claiming that they have turned them over to the
police.
The police have forwarded the filing of charges
last November 21 to the Prosecutor's office. Those that are still accounted for
in the Municipal Jail will be charged with Illegal Assembly and Associations
Inciting to Rebellion including those that are still in the hospital.
Bayan Muna said that there were 46 peasants and
organizers who were in the kamalig. As of this writing, 18 are still
missing including the two detainees.
Sack of arms
A fact-finding team of Karapatan-Easten Visayas
who when to the Palo PNP reported that several of the detainees were subjected
to a tactical investigation even without legal counsel, and in spite of the
protests from the Karapatan. The tactical interrogation was also conducted by a
team of soldiers and plainclothesmen.
Bayan Muna Representative Teodoro Casiño who
came with the fact-finding team in San Agustin commented that if it was really a
gathering of the New People's Army, why would they publicize the event to media
and barangay officials?
The fact-finding team also took a testimony from
one of the survivors who witnessed an unidentified AFP soldier carrying a sack
of arms dumped them into the outhouse next to their tent while they were being
fired upon.
Alex Garcia-Lagunzad, secretary-general of
Katungod-SB, said, "This is a clear case of a legal land dispute between the
small farmers of San Agustin and Pedro Margallo. The claim that this was an
'encounter' between the NPA and the AFP only serves to legitimize this massacre
of peasants and to further illegitimize the progressive people's party-list
Bayan Muna."
The military was lambasted for issuing
contradicting statements. First they claimed that the "exchange of gunfire"
lasted for two hours only to recant it later by saying that it was for 45
minutes. Barangay residents and survivors however told the fact-finding team
that the shooting lasted between 10-15 minutes.
The military also initially claimed that they
recovered four pieces of .38 paltik revolver and two homemade shotguns. Later
they added a carbine rifle and in succeeding pronouncement in the media, there
was an additional M16 armalite. Then last November 23, Major Alcovindas claimed
that M14 rifle was also found in the area. The sworn affidavit of 2nd
Lt. Benedicto, the team leader of the strike team, however did not mention any
M14 and the M16.
Balik-uma
The balik-uma came as the peasants'
action after years of delay in the implementation of a government decision on
who would be the rightful beneficiary of the land.
A 12-hectare farm was being disputed since May
29, 1998, in a case field with the office of the Provincial Agrarian Reform
Adjudicator (PARAD). Spouses Renato and Fe Dizon filed the case for the
"maintenance of peaceful possession and/or reinstatement" in the land, against
Pedro Margallo, who was also claiming the land.
On November 13, 2000, the PARAD decision said it
has no jurisdiction on selecting the rightful beneficiary because the task falls
on only the DAR secretary, the regional director or the DAR Adjudication Board.
However, the PARAD decided that pending the decision from the said offices, the
Dizons "must be reinstated and maintained in peaceful possession, cultivation
and adequate enjoyment of the subject land."
In an interview with Bulatlat, Renato
Dizon, who was also the barangay captain of San Agustin in Palo said: "Since
2000, we were not able to cultivate because the decision was never implemented.
In fact, way back in 1998 we received death threats from the family of Pedro
Margallo whose son is an active member of the Philippine National Police (PNP)
assigned in Tacloban City."
The long wait led Dizon's two sons to the office
of Bayan Muna in Palo for assistance this year.
Joel Arceo, the secretary-general of Bayan
Muna-Leyte, said: "At first one peasant from San Agustin went to our office
asking for assistance. It was then followed by visits of many other peasants
complaining of the same problem in the area and so we sent some of our staff to
facilitate the farmers in filing their complaints."
"Brazen lie"
The National Democratic Front in Eastern Visayas
(NDF-EV) has issued a statement denying that there wee operating units of the
NPA in the municipality of Palo.
Fr. Santiago Salas, NDF-Eastern Visayas
spokersperson "slams the 19th IB for the brazen lie that they had a '45-minute
encounter' with the New People's Army (NPA) and "confiscated" a few inferior
firearms. But all the victims were unarmed and innocent civilians and included
women and children. Moreover, the NDF-EV emphatically states that no encounter
happened because there were no NPA fighters in the peasant community, and
because the NPA is well-oriented to refrain from joining civilian activities and
will never put the lives of civilians in danger. Just like the Hacienda Luisita
massacre in Central Luzon last year, the military is quick at inventing fake
threats from the NPA to justify mowing down defenseless civilians with
impunity."
The president on the other hand has issued an
order to all concerned agencies to conduct an investigation on the Palo
incident. Other groups which are investigating the case include the Commission
on Human Rights (CHR), the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) of Leyte, Citizens'
Anti-Crime Assistance Group (CAAG).
Meantime, the residents of Palo and its
neighboring towns are still in a state of disbelief of the massacre that
happened. The Palo has always been considered as insurgent-free and the most
peaceful town in the region. But that all will change now. Bulatlat
© 2005 Bulatlat
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