HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
‘Soldiers Burned Our
Buildings Last Christmas’
And so this is
Christmas, and what have the soldiers done? Burn the buildings of a
learning center in Baler,
Aurora
province, said its staff.
BY NORTHERN DISPATCH
Posted by Bulatlat
Days before Christmas, the staff of a
local learning center went home for the holidays but were forced to cut
short their vacation after learning that their buildings were burned ― on
the early morning of Christmas Day no less. According to them, this is
clearly the handiwork of soldiers based there. In the past, the local
learning center was accused of being a terrorist organization.
Elements of the Aurora-based 48th
Infantry Battalion-Philippine Army (IBPA) of the Armed Force of the
Philippines (AFP) under the command of Col. Joselito Kakilala allegedly
burned three buildings of the Bataris Foundation Center in Sitio Binilwag,
Barangay Buhangin, Baler, Aurora (231 kms from Manila) early morning of
Christmas day, Dec. 25.
Bataris personnel estimate
the total damages close to P1 million ($19,040.37, based on an exchange
rate of P52.52 per US dollar).
According to a fact sheet prepared by
Bataris, a resident living at the back of the
Bataris office heard raindrop-like sounds at around 4:30 a.m. The
sounds turned out to be that of early stages of
burning inside a building called Che-Che which serves as Bataris' female
sleeping quarters.
Around an hour later (5:30
a.m.), a loud
explosion reverberated in the neighborhood. The oil tank of two
motorcycles parked in the Bataris compound apparently exploded. The
motorcycles were owned by Eddie Pujeda and Joey Estriber.
Pujeda, vice-president of
Justice and Peace Action Group of Aurora (JPAG), left his motorcycle in
the compound when he went home for the holidays. Estriber is a staff of
Bataris.
Concerned neighbors informed
the Baler station of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the latter
informed the Baler's Fire Brigade station.
Bataris staff arrived a few
minutes and together with neighbors and other concerned citizens tried to
put out the fire. They also kept nearby buildings wet with buckets of
water. Elements of PNP Baler came to the site later. A fire truck arrived
at around 6:20 a.m.
and the fire was put under control after 30 minutes. The Che-Che building
and the two motorcycles of Pujeda and Estriber were totally destroyed.
The two other Bataris
buildings ― Obeth which serves as a session hall and Ben & Pio which
serves as the male sleeping quarters ― were also damaged. Ben & Pio’s
walls were partially burned. No Bataris member was hurt because all of
them went home for the holidays.
Bataris staff found a
partially burned plastic container, a plastic bag and a broken steel bar
of the fence which were turned over to the investigating officer, PO2
Larry Lorente.
Bataris members believe that the alleged
arson was the handiwork of the 48th IBPA based on previous
incidents of harassment against Bataris personnel perpetrated by the said
soldiers.
The latest harassment incident was that of
Alfonso van Zijil, executive director of Bataris Formation Center, and
Manding Colcol, a Bataris member, last December 14 when both of them
removed a streamer tagging Bataris, JPAG and
Multi-Sectoral Action Group (MSAG)-Aurora as terrorist organizations from
a tree along the highway.
Cocol and van Zijil
were aboard a motorcycle on the way to Sitio
Hacienda, Brgy. Nonong, San Luis to bring to Brgy. Councilor Morgan
Novicio Bataris’ 2006 calendar when a gray, old model Nissan passenger car
blocked them. Two men jumped out of the car - one wearing a t-shirt with
"Army" printed on it, the other in plain civilian clothes - approached
them, while two others remained inside the car. One of the men grabbed the
streamer from Colcol and van Zijil, unfolded it and asked them if they
understood what was written on it.
The man wearing an Army
t-shirt introduced himself as an army officer based in Sitio Dimayaan, San
Luis, and demanded from Colcol his driver’s license, which the latter
refused to give.
The same man further ordered
the two to go with them to the military camp of the 48th IB
Charlie Company in Sitio Dimayaan, Brgy. Diteki, San Luis, which they
again refused to heed.
“We proposed that if they
wanted to talk to us, we could talk at the Office of Mayor Mariano Tangson
of San Luis, after which we decided to return to the town proper. The
car...turned around and followed us at close distance,” the Bataris fact
sheet read.
Founded in 1987, Bataris
served as an alternative learning center for basic sectors and lay people.
Bishop Emeritus Julio X. Labayen OCD of the Prelature of Infanta chairs
the Board of Trustees. Posted by Bulatlat
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