This story
was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly
newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. V, No. 7, March 20-26, 2005
Backed by
government troops, members of the RPA-ABB recently figured in a raid of an
alleged NPA camp in a Negros Oriental town. This appears to be the latest in a
series of joint counter-insurgency campaigns by both government forces and the
rebel faction.
By Karl G. Ombion
DUMAGUETE CITY,
Negros Oriental – More than a decade ago, the town of Siaton, 40 kms south of
this city, was declared a “no man’s land” – an area where the military would
conduct military operations and civilians who have not left their villages are a
fair game. Since then however a lull in hostilities between New People’s Army (NPA)
guerrillas and government forces has given town residents a relative calm.
That calm was
broken on March 9.
At around 7 a.m.
on that day, successive bursts of gunfire from what seemed to be high-powered
rifles startled the people of Sitios (subvillages) Cang-angin and Kabangkalan,
in the mountain barangay (village) of Tayak, Siaton town.
Some villagers,
who had barely begun their farm work, thought the gunfire was the opening salvo
of a fiesta in a neighboring village. (Some village fiestas traditionally begin
with dawn “rondallas” and firecrackers. However, farmer Crispino Olfos
had no doubt that it was “a signal of the grim past coming to life.”
Narrating the
incident later to a fact-finding mission led by Karapatan, a human rights
alliance, Olfos said that an hour after the volley of gunfire, he saw armed men
from the suspected Revolutionary Proletarian Army-Alex Boncayao Brigade (RPA-ABB)
withdrawing from a nearby site, passed his house, quickly grabbed him and made
him as their shield to elude an NPA unit that was hot on their trail.
The suspected
RPA-ABB elements, it was learned, left Olfos in a nearby site after securing
their withdrawal. Earlier, two squads of the suspected RPA-ABB – a rebel faction
that bolted from the NPA in the early 1990s – reportedly backed by soldiers from
the Philippine Army’s 61st IB, had raided an alleged camp of the NPA
up in Tayak’s forest.
The PA-RPA-ABB
operation and subsequent exchange of fire with the NPA guerrillas lasted until
10 in the morning and resulted in the death of three – one from the RPA-ABB and
two from the NPA. Both the RPA-ABB and the 303rd Brigade of the PA,
said the Karapatan fact-finding mission, were quick to claim that they “have no
intention to sow fear in the villages” but simply to “clear the place of NPA
terrorists.”
The operations
also forced 11 families to flee their homes, Karapatan said.
Col. Jogy Leo
Pojas, commander of the 303rd IB in Negros island, told the local media that a
“sizeable number of red fighters of the Preparatory Front Six of the CPP-New
People’s Army in south-east Negros, were encamped inside a marshy portion of
Mantikil village.”
Fojas also said
that their operation was “a preemptive strike” against the NPA who were planning
to stage tactical offensives in preparation for their anniversary on March 29.”
Recovered from the
NPA, he said, were sacks of rice, ammunition, computer printer, and subversive
documents.
As of press time,
both the soldiers and the RPA-ABB units have set up a wide dragnet in Tayak,
Kasalaan, Mantikil and Apoloy, of Siaton town, to flush out CPP-NPA rebels
believed holed up in the area.
Meanwhile, members
of the Karapatan chapters of Negros Occidental, Oriental and Cebu that conducted
a joint fact finding mission said that they have documented 10 cases of human
rights violations, involving 68 victims, and at least 11 families who fled to
other barangays to escape terror.
Aside from illegal
searches, harassments, and using human as shields during operations and
counter-operations, Karapatan also recorded several cases of divestment of
properties, mopping-up and zoning operations which resulted in confiscation of
rice and corn supplies, chickens, and other personal property.
Karapatan also
reported that the soldiers who backed up the RPA-ABB operations denied a decent
burial for the two NPA guerrillas killed in the raid, by allowing their bodies
to rot under the summer heat for two days. Villagers facilitated the exhumation
and burial of the two NPA guerrillas. This was a clear violation of the
Comprehensive Agreement for the Respect of Human Rights and International
Humanitarian Law that the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP)
and government signed in 1998, Karapatan said.
Members of the
fact-finding mission, Karapatan complained, was also harassed by the elements of
the RPA-ABB and the Philippine Army while conducting their investigation.
Fred Caña, member
of the Karapatan National Council, and one of the leaders of the mission, said
that soldiers barred them from interviewing local residents and members of the
Army’s operating units.
Clearing operations for mining
In a dialogue
between the Karapatan-led mission and more than 200 residents of Mantikil,
farmers reported meeting bands of RPA-ABB together with some soldiers conducting
military operations and house-to-house identification in the mountain villages
of Siaton, and the neighboring towns of Bayawan and Sta. Catalina.
Citing residents’
testimonies, Caña said the joint operations of the RPA-ABB and government forces
were connected with the resumption of mining operations that had been stopped
earlier by local protests. In December last year, the Supreme Court reversed its
January 2004 ruling by declaring the controversial 1995 Mining Code as
constitutional.
Olfos also told
the mission that villagers had in the past repeatedly complained of harassment
by elements of the RPA-ABB and the military and also during the time the armed
groups escorted the entry of heavy construction equipment of the provincial
government.
Negros Oriental
Gov. Jorge Arnaiz recently announced the fast tracking of farm-to-market roads
and other infrastructure in the mountain villages of Siaton, Sta. Catalina and
Bayawan.
The upland
farmers, Olfos said, have opposed infrastructural projects because these are
part of the clearing operations for the resumption of the mining explorations in
their villages. The mining projects will only dislocate thousands of farmers
from their lands and villages, Olfos added.
Following the
Supreme Court reversal on the mining act, applications for mining exploration
and operations have increased and, according to government, are expected to
boost state revenues.
In Negros, the
southwest and southeast parts, Caña said, are particularly abundant with mineral
resources including gold, copper, silver, nickel and molybdenum. The island’s
stock of molybdenum, is the largest reserves in the country, estimated at 78
percent. It is in these areas where big mining companies have operated for
decades.
Total MPSA mining
claims in the island cover 360,260 hectares. Of these, 290,802 hectares are
claimed by 24 operating mining companies under MPSA in Negros Occidental.
Caña also alleged
that RPA-ABB elements are being deputized as forest guards by Governor Arnaiz to
legitimize their anti-people operations and render protection for the mining
operations and other government projects.
Karapatan-Negros,
meanwhile, slammed the RPA-ABB as “special armed gang” of Arnaiz of Negros
Oriental and as special paramilitary unit of the Philippine Army in terrorizing
mountain villages and hunting NPA units.
Fojas himself
reportedly admitted that they have reinforced the RPA-ABB group who raided the
NPA guerrillas in Mantikil and other parts of Negros island.
Stephen Paduana
also known as (aka) Carapali Lualhati, RPA-ABB national commander, confirmed
over local media that there is indeed “ongoing joint AFP-RPA/ABB combat
operations against CPP-NPA rebels.” (As part of a previous peace agreement, the
RPA-ABB agreed to help in government’s counter-insurgency operations, it was
also reported.) Bulatlat © 2004 Bulatlat
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RPA-AFP Raid NPA Camp
for Mining Operations in Negros
Bulatlat