This story
was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly
newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. VI, No. 2, February 12-18, 2006
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
19 years after the Lupao Massacre:
February 10, 1987. Seventeen
civilians, including six children and two elderly, were killed by government
troops in Lupao, Nueva Ecija. In 1989, the 24 soldiers allegedly involved in
the massacre were acquitted by a military court. Nineteen years later, the human
rights situation in Lupao and in the whole province of Nueva Ecija remains
gruesome.
BY EMILY VITAL
Bulatlat
February 10, 1987. Seventeen civilians,
including six children and two elderly were killed by government troops in Lupao,
Nueva Ecija. In 1989, the 24 soldiers allegedly involved in the massacre were
acquitted by the military court.
Nineteen years later, the human rights situation
in Lupao and in the whole province of Nueva Ecija remains gruesome.
From January 2005 to January 2006, human rights
group Karapatan-NE (Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights-Nueva Ecija)
documented two cases of forced disappearance, 11 cases of summary execution, six
cases of abduction and killing, two cases of frustrated murder. Many more cases
of illegal arrest, illegal detention, coercion and torture were recorded. Three
of those killed were from Lupao.
On January 19, Elpidio Gante, a tricycle driver
from Namulandayan village, was killed by three unidentified men.
Another civilian, Roman Friolo, was killed on
Sept. 25, 2005 in his house in Cordero village. Based on Karapatan-NE accounts,
combined elements of the Army’s 71st Infantry Batallion (IB), 308th
Provincial Mobile Group-Philippine National Police (PMG-PNP) and 309th
PMG indiscriminately fired at Friolo's house.
Barely two months after the incident, on Nov.
14, 2005, Clarita Ramirez, a government employee and Bayan Muna (People First)
municipal coordinator, was killed by unidentified men.
Counter-insurgency?
All these incidents, if one is to believe the
military's claim, are part of a counter-insurgency campaign.
On Dec. 7 last year, combined elements of the 48th
and 71st IB and the 7th Infantry Division (ID) arrived in
San Isidro village. They had with them a list of suspected NPA members. They
searched houses without warrants and even stole some of the victims' belongings,
villagers said.
Between Jan. 22 and 24, four separate incidents
of harassment and coercion were recorded in Parista and Balbalungao villages.
The victims were Mario Florendo, Kenedy Caligtan, Shirley Caligtan and Zaldy
Fariñas. Three of them are Bayan Muna members. The perpetrators were
identified as elements of the 48th IB.
In an interview, Betty Perido, secretary general
of Karapatan-NE and pastor of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP)
narrated Kenedy's plight in the hands of the military. "Tinutukan daw siya
ng kalibre .45. Inipit din sa mga daliri niya ang mga bala. Binuhusan din ng
tubig" (A .45 calibre pistol was pointed at him. Bullets were placed in
between his fingers. He was also subjected to water cure.)
Perido shared a common experience of the victims
of abduction and torture, "May pinapapirmahang papel. Hindi nila alam kung
ano ang nakasulat. Para makauwi na, pumipirma sila" (They were coerced to
sign a paper. They didn’t know what was written on it. They agreed to sign just
so they would be allowed to go home.)
Perido said the military presented their order
of battle (OB) in public meetings. Listed were members of party list groups and
progressive organizations.
"Pinapaamin nila ang mga tao bilang kasapi o
tagasuporta ng NPA. Kung hindi, baka raw magaya sila kay Celia” (They were
forced to admit to being NPA members, under threat of suffering Celia’s fate),
Perido related.
Celia is Priscilla Esteban, a farmworker and
Bayan Muna leader, who was abducted by six men believed to be soldiers from the
71st IB in October last year. Her body, hogtied, was found with
gunshot wounds and stab wounds. Her skull was also shattered.
Palparan
Perido noted the rise in the number of human
rights violations in the province since Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan Jr. became the
commanding officer of the 7th Infantry Division based in Ft.
Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija.
Palparan's stints as commanding officer of units
in Southern Tagalog and Eastern Visayas were characterized by grave human rights
violations, his critics say.
Oplan Bantay Laya
In a statement, Karapatan expressed grave
concern over the escalation of human rights violations in Central Luzon and in
other parts of the country.
"The Oplan Bantay Laya, the counter-insurgency
program of the Macapagal-Arroyo administration, has also targeted legal
democratic organizations in a desperate bid to solve the raging armed conflict
in the country through military means," Karapatan stated.
In 2005 alone, 165 individuals were summarily
executed, based on Karapatan’s records. None of the cases have been investigated
nor solved. Bulatlat © 2006 Bulatlat
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Rights Violations Continue in Lupao