This story
was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly
newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. V, No. 8, April 3-9, 2005
13
Days of Torture Under the Military Sixty-year old peace
advocate Angelina Bisuña Ipong complains of illegal arrest, physical torture and
molestation after being illegally arrested by the military on Women’s Day, March
8. “I pleaded for mercy,” she said in her written statement, “but all they said
wala nay kalooy-kalooy dinhi.” (we have no mercy). BY DABET CASTAÑEDA Sixty-year-old peace advocate Angelina
Bisuña Ipong complains of illegal arrest, physical torture and molestation after
being arrested by the military on Women’s Day, March 8. “I pleaded for mercy,”
she said in her written statement issued March 22, “but all they said was
wala nay kalooy-kalooy dinhi.” (we have no mercy). The Western Mindanao Region (WMR) chapter of
the human rights group Karapatan (Alliance for the Advancement of Peoples’
Rights) said Ipong was arrested while having a consultation regarding the
implementation of the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and
International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) and the status of the peace talks
between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the National
Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP). Ipong was charged with rebellion and triple
murder at the Dipolog Regional Trial Court in Zamboanga, southern Philippines. However, Jenah Belza, Karapatan-WMR deputy
secretary general, said Ipong’s arrest by the military was illegal as no warrant
of arrest was issued at the time she was seized. A warrant was issued only on
March 17 or nine days after she was abducted by at least 10 armed men wearing
ski masks and fatigue shorts at Anastacia Mission Village, Barangay (village)
Lumbayao, Aloran, Misamis Occidental. When she was presented to the media on March
15, Armed Forces Southern Command (Southcom) chief Lt. Gen. Alberto Braganza
alleged that Ipong is the deputy secretary of the Western Mindanao Regional
Party Committee of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). Hunger strike, torture In her written statement, Ipong said 10
burly men took her while she was having her afternoon rest. She was dragged into
a silver white van and blindfolded. After driving for about two hours, her
blindfold was removed and she found herself inside a nipa hut. Somebody took her
pictures; she was offered food but she refused to eat. This was the start of her
hunger strike. Ipong said she was again blindfolded and was
driven away by the van. Later she found herself in a room where she would stay
for the next three days. She was left incommunicado. Only two men went inside
the room to interrogate her. Four days later, she was told to dress up.
Blindfolded, she was then led to a car and was later told to board a helicopter.
The travel took two hours, making Ipong to believe that they were headed for the
Southcom headquarters. They touched down at their destination late
in the afternoon, Ipong wrote. She was left alone in an airconditioned room with
two chairs, a table and a big mirror in front. She was allowed to go to the
toilet once and was given a big jar where she could put her waste. She was subjected to another round of
interrogation that lasted for about 30-45 minutes. While denying all allegations
thrown at her, she was hit on her sides and on the head by a man with a “big
commanding voice.” A man warned her that if she does not
cooperate, a “berdugo” (villain) would come and rape her. Then the man
left taking all her belongings with him. She was left sitting down with her head
resting on the table. An hour later, another man whom Ipong
described in her statement as “stern looking” went to her and took off her
blindfold. This time, she wrote, her interrogators used a different tactic to
persuade her to talk. Ipong said a man entered her room and
appeared to be “very concerned.” He offered her food and asked her what she
wanted. She complained about her belongings being taken away from her. Later,
she was given a folding bed and was given back her belongings. The man left
after about 30 minutes. Molestation But another man entered the room and
blindfolded her. He was followed by three men to begin another round of
interrogation. This round seemed to be the worst, she said.
“They mauled my left and right shoulders…, gave me a punch at the side…, struck
me on the head with a rolled paper,” she said. “Then they started undressing me…they begun
making fun of my breasts… started unbuttoning my shorts and pulled down my
panty…they started touching my private parts,” she continued. “I shouted for mercy…I asked them to treat
me with respect but they just laughed,” she wrote. “I was very weak and at this instance I lost
consciousness,” she wrote. The last thing she could remember was that one of the
men said “ako gyod ning isulod akong tudlo (I will insert my finger), set
the aircon at maximum.” When she regained consciousness, she said
she was still hog-tied and was shivering. She was not able to sleep that night. Case filed The next day, March 13, the first man who
interrogated her came back and started to question and torture her some more. He
left after about 45 minutes. After about an hour, the “nice man” came
back, prodded her to eat, gave her a pen and paper and asked her to write her
bio data. But because she was too weak the “nice guy” volunteered to write down
her answers to his questions. Since it was the sixth day of her hunger
strike, Ipong started vomiting and experience head pains. It was then that she
answered “yes” to all her captors’ allegations. After that incident, Ipong wrote that the
whole atmosphere changed. She was told that she would be able to avail of her
rights like having a counsel, visitation rights and a promise to be given humane
treatment. On the afternoon of that day some members of
the Judge Advocate General Office (JAGO) went to her and presented the two cases
filed against her. “I’ll face that in court,” she supposedly told them as
members of the JAGO promised to contact her lawyer from Pagadian City. The army
judges never came back. City jail On March 18, Ipong was transferred to the
Molave Municipal Hall after an hour flight and later to the Ramon Magsaysay
prison. Late in the afternoon military men from the 5th Army Brigade
guarded the area, Ipong wrote. The following day, she was brought to the
Pagadian City jail. Sensing that her ordeal was over as she was already with
“other people,” Ipong lifted her hunger strike and started eating lanot
(translation) and lugaw (rice broth). It was only on March 21 – or 13 days after
she was abducted - that she was allowed to see her lawyer, Andres Arcilla, and
volunteers of Karapatan-WMR chapter. The human rights group has condemned the
spate of human rights violation cases allegedly perpetrated by the military in
their region. Other reported cases include the summary execution of seven
month-old pregnant Myrna Tabata allegedly by the 4th Infantry
Battalion of the Philippine Army (IBPA), the massacre of the Monsalud family in
Zamboanga del Sur allegedly perpetrated by the 10th IB PA, and the
shooting of peasant activist Teofilo Lagunda. Ipong’s case is the 13th illegal
arrest and arbitrary detention in the region, Karapatan’s records show.
Karapatan has accused the Southcom for
violating Republic Act 7438 that allows lawyers, immediate family members,
spiritual counselor and a doctor to visit a person arrested or under custodial
investigation at any time. Bulatlat © 2004 Bulatlat
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