HUMAN
RIGHTS WATCH
Increase in Military
Deployment Led to More Violations in Central Luzon
For the first time in
more than a decade, soldiers were deployed in major cities in Central
Luzon.
Residents fear that they will now bear the brunt of human rights
violations and "death squad" operations, which in recent past engulfed
villages and towns in the region’s rural areas.
BY ABNER BOLOS
Gitnang Luzon News Service
Posted by Bulatlat
DEPLOYMENT SITE. Pulung
Bulu village in Angeles City, Pampanga where activist leader Kiko
Rivera was killed in October 2005 is one of the urban villages where
Army detachments had been set up.
BULATLAT FILE PHOTO |
ANGELES CITY (83 kms
north of Manila) —The soldiers are in their early 20s. Their profession
was evident in the shiny military boots they all wore, their neat,
close-cropped hair, their bearing and the Armed Forces of the Philippines
(AFP) insignia on the shirts some of them wore. They were looking for a
hot, early breakfast.
As dawn broke in this
row of roadside stalls that offer light meals at the end of Sto.
Rosario street just beyond the small bridge from the Angeles City public
market, the seven newly-arrived troopers talked softly, placed their big
bags carefully at their feet on the pavement and asked for mami
(Chinese chicken noodle soup).
|
They waited until
their leader ordered his meal and sat down to eat before they took their
seats and had their own bowls of mami or goto (porridge with
ox tripe). Some spoke Visayan, a language widely used in the Visayas
islands and most parts of Mindanao, while others talked in Ilokano, a
language spoken in Northern Luzon.
"Oo, mga
sundalo yan na kadarating. Ngayon ko lang nakita ang mga iyan."
(Yes, they are soldiers who have
just arrived. This is the first time that I saw them), said Aling Mely, a
vendor, when asked if the customers were soldiers and if she knew them.
Looking for NPAs
Aling Mely, who asked
that her real name would not be used, wondered why soldiers suddenly
appeared in the city center. "Nabasa ko sa dyaryo na naghahanap daw
sila ng mga NPA, pero hindi ko alam kung bakit dito sila naghahanap,"
(I read in the papers that they are looking for New Peoples’ Army or NPA
guerrillas, but I don’t know why they are looking for them here.)
Angeles City is one
of the biggest urban centers in Central Luzon. It used to host the Clark
Air Force Base, one of the biggest American military bases outside the U.S
mainland. After the Philippine senate rejected a new bases treaty in 1991
and the Mt.
Pinatubo erupted during the same year, the
base was vacated.
It has since been
converted into an industrial and commercial center and is one of the hubs
of the government’s Central Luzon growth corridor. Normally, there are no
soldiers roaming its streets and residents are unaccustomed to their
presence.
The last time
soldiers were deployed in the city’s residential villages was in the late
1980s when Maj. Gen, Jovito Palparan, then a junior officer, commanded the
army’s 24th Infantry Battalion, said Roman Polintan,
chairperson of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan-Central Luzon (Bayan-CL or New
Patriotic Alliance).
Thirteen of the
city’s 33 villages are now unwilling hosts to soldiers since Palparan, now
head of the 7th Infantry Division that covers the eight provinces of the
region announced that he will flush out insurgents who are using urban
underground houses for their operations.
"Critical areas"
Last June 16,
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declared that the communist insurgency
must end in "critical areas" in one to two years and released a
supplemental fund of P1 billion ($18,775,816 at an exchange rate of
$1=P53.26) to the military and police for its operations. The government
identified Central Luzon, Southern Tagalog and the Bicol region as
"critical areas."
After the
pronouncement, 1,500 soldiers from war-torn Mindanao were transferred to
Luzon. An additional six battalions or 3,000 troops serving as security
detail of public officials were also recalled for redeployment to critical
areas.
On June 20, Palparan
told the media that he will deploy soldiers in the 12 cities and 118 towns
in the provinces of Pampanga, Bulacan and Nueva Ecija.
The controversial
general, who is being blamed by human rights groups as responsible for the
killing and enforced disappearance of more than 100 activists since his
transfer here nine months ago, also vowed that he will wipe out the
insurgency in the region by the time he retires this coming September.
Civilian targets
But these
announcements and the arrival of troops in the region’s urban centers have
stoked anger and fear among residents, especially leaders and members of
militant organizations.
"GMA’s announcement
further emboldened and gave more reason for Palparan and his troops to
escalate human rights violations. This is but a pretext for intensified
attacks against civilians," said Polintan.
Polintan said troops
are already deployed in 13 barangays (villages) in Angeles City namely,
Pulung bulu, Pampang, Pulong Cacutud, Lourdes Sur, Lourdes East, Lourdes
Northwest, Sto. Cristo, Sapang Bato, Margoy, Anonas, Tabun, Capaya and
Cutud; seven in San Fernando City namely, San Jose, Sta. Lucia, San Pedro
Cutud, Quebiawan, San Isidro, Alasas and Calulot; and another nine
villages in Mabalacat City, including barangays Dolores, Atlu-bola, Duquit,
Mabiga, Madapdap, Mawaque and Camachile.
Angeles, Mabalacat
and San Fernando are the biggest urban centers in Pampanga and are located
along the MacArthur highway, the main route going to Manila. San Fernando
is the government’s administrative center in Central Luzon where regional
offices of the government are located. It straddles the main intersection
going to Subic Bay Freeport Zone in Zambales.
The villages where
troops have been deployed are mostly commercial and residential areas. The
soldiers use village halls and day care centers as headquarters, Polintan
said.
He said soldiers have
been entering people’s homes showing pictures and videos of rallies and
asking residents to identify the persons in the films.
Residents fear that
they will now bear the brunt of human rights violations and "death squad"
operations, which in recent past engulfed villages and towns in the
region’s rural areas, Polintan said.
Illegal arrests
Since the new
deployment, Karapatan-Central Luzon (Alliance for the Advancement of
People’s Rights) documented several cases of abductions and illegal
arrests.
Eduardo Pineda, a
tricyle driver and Celestino Roman, a jeepney driver were taken from their
homes without any warrant of arrest in Purok 5, Pulung bulu, Angeles last
June 13 by soldiers belonging to the 69th IB who were occupying the
village hall, Sr. Cecille Ruiz, Karapatan-CL coordinator said.
The two were released
the next day after being interrogated on their alleged involvement with
the NPA.
In Brgy. Lourdes
Northwest, also in Angeles City, Fe Julian, a leader of Kadamay-Angeles
City (Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap or Mutual Help Association of the
Poor) was also picked up from her home last Friday by soldiers of the 69th
IB and brought to an undisclosed safe house but was released after several
hours of interrogation, Ruiz said.
What mandate?
The Mothers and
Relatives Against Tyranny (MARTYR), a newly-formed organization of
relatives of victims of human rights violations chided Atty. Jasmin
Navarro-Regino, regional director of the government’s Commission on Human
Rights (CHR) for taking a position contrary to CHR national chairperson
Purificacion Quisumbing.
MARTYR spokesperson
Jocelyn Javier said that while Quisumbing has called for the investigation
and prosecution of soldiers involved in the killings, Navarro-Regino has
"not acted" on the complaints brought to her office and instead "justified
and encouraged them (soldiers) to go on…by saying it is within
the mandate of the AFP."
"What mandate is she
talking about? The killing, abduction, and other violations of civil
rights of civilians can never be justified. The deployment of troops must
stop to prevent more killings," Javier said.
Javier’s husband,
Armand, Anakpawis (Toiling Masses) partylist coordinator in Cuyapo, Nueva
Ecija, was shot to death in their home on October 2, last year by armed
men believed to be military agents.
Roman Polintan, Bayan-CL
chairperson also decried that officials of local government units have
"tolerated or acquiesced to Palparan’s moves without prior consultation
with concerned sectors as mandated in the Local Government Code."
Fountainhead
Oplan Bantay Laya (OBL),
the government's 5-year counterinsurgency plan is seen by critics as the
fountainhead of human rights violations that has claimed the lives of 690
persons all over the country since it was put in place in 2002.
The Arroyo
administration claims that the purpose of the counter-insurgency program
is to remove threats to national security and thereby pave the way to
economic progress.
But the victims of
OBL said that it has turned into a monster and has a face: one is a
certain MSgt. Rizal Hilario, alias Rollie Castillo.
Last Thursday,
Bulacan governor Josie Dela Cruz identified Hilario as Palparan's "special
operator" who reports directly to Palparan. Hilario has been linked to the
killing of civilians and activists in Bulacan and other areas in Central
Luzon.
In Hacienda Luisita,
a certain Sgt. Rolly Castillo, was identified by witnesses as one of two
soldiers responsible for the murder of union president Ricardo Ramos.
When the suspect
surfaced however, he was identified by Palparan as Sgt. Romy Castillo.
Witnesses insist that Romy and Rolly Castillo are the same person.
In Nueva Ecija and in
Aurora province, the appearance of Sgt. Rolly Castillo was followed by
killings and disappearances, human rights records show. GLNS/posted by
Bulatlat
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