Families of Slain Residents Push Criminal Raps
vs. Suspended Kalinga PNP Chief
Two victims’ heads run over by PNP jeep, survivors say

The families of two Tabuk, Kalinga residents alleged to have been extra-judicially killed upon orders from suspended provincial police chief Preddro Ramos are seeking justice by urging appropriate authorities to file criminal cases against all involved Philippine National Police (PNP) officials and personnel.

BY ARTHUR L. ALLAD-IW
Northern Dispatch
Posted by Bulatlat

The families of two Tabuk, Kalinga residents alleged to have been extra-judicially killed upon orders from suspended provincial police chief Preddro Ramos are seeking justice by urging appropriate authorities to file criminal cases against all involved Philippine National Police (PNP) officials and personnel.

The two survivors – Rodel Gallema and Robert Lutao – related in an affidavit how suspended Kalinga PNP chief Pedro Ramos and his men “brutally killed” Gubiangan and Elmer Gallema, both residents of Tabuk, after bringing them to Tuguegarao, Cagayan.

They said in an affidavit that the Ramos-led PNP arrested them without warrant in the morning of May 23 in the Gubiangan residence in Gobgob, Tabuk where the four had been fencing in lands for goat raising.

They were brought to the Kalinga PNP provincial barracks in Tabuk and in the afternoon taken to the Prosecutor’s Office in Tuguegarao, Cagayan where the PNP prevented their relatives from accompanying them. Going back to Tabuk from Tuguegarao and near the Eleb Cemetery along the road, Ramos grabbed and pushed Gubiangan out of the PNP jeepney while another officer – identified as Silawa – did the same to Elmer Gallema. The two were handcuffed at that time, said the surivors.

A white mini dump truck, parked near the cemetery earlier, ran over Noel and Elmer. When Ramos ordered his men to check if the two were alive, one of his men answered positively. Ramos allegedly ordered his men, “Ilagay y’ong ulo sa gulong at atrasan” (Put their heads near the jeep’s tires and run them over), Rodel Gallema and Lutao said in their joint affidavit.  

They added that the jeep ran over Noel and Elmer’s heads “at least seven times.” Ramos, they also said, ordered his men to bring the two mangled bodies to the Kalinga Provincial Hospital where they were recovered by their families.

The arrest

Based on a notarized document received by Nordis, brothers Elmer and Rodel Gallema, from Tuga, Tabuk, went to the Gubiangan same town in the afternoon of May 21 to fence in the land of the latter. Noel Gubiangan, the son of Adelberta who hired them, and Robert Lutao joined them in fencing the land where the goats are raised.

Adelberta Gubiangan said that at 1:30 am of May 23, unidentified attackers fired for at least thirty minutes at her son’s house where the four were sleeping. At early dawn, ten members of the Philippine Army arrived in the area to secure them as allegedly ordered by the mayor of Tabuk. Policemen led by Ramos arrived later on board a PNP jeep and ordered the Army: “Kunin n’yo lahat ng mga lalaki rito, kunin mo ito”  (Get all the men here, get this one), pointing to Noel (Gubiangan).

She told of having pleaded to Ramos and his men but to no avail as they brought the four to the PNP barracks in Bulanao, Tabuk. In the afternoon, she said, the four were brought by Ramos and his men to Tuguegarao.

At 10 o’ clock that night, she received text messages saying that her son Noel and Elmer were at the Kalinga Provincial Hospital.  She where there and saw their dirty bodies, with broken bones and flattened heads.

Survivors jailed

Nordis learned that Rodel and Robert, after having been tortured by Ramos’ men, are now detained at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) in Bulanao village, Tabuk. A reliable source said that they are detained due to a criminal case filed against them by Ramos.

Ramos was recently reported to have been relieved from his post. Col. Roberto Damian of the PNP-CAR has taken over as officer-in-charge.

Meanwhile, the multi-sectoral groups in Tabuk that had noted the rise of extra-judicial and political killings in Tabuk urged the investigation and punishment of PNP officials and members involved in these killings. The latest was the ambush of the family of Dr. Constancio “Chandu” Claver and his wife Alyce, in which the latter was killed. Their daughter, who was with the couple when they were shot, is said to have been traumatized by the incident.

Tabuk residents say that the killings in Kalinga began when Ramos took over the command from S/Supt. James Dugao.

The Cordillera Human Rights Alliance (CHRA) stated that families of the victims pointed to Ramos as the “culprit” behind these killings.

Lawyer Reynaldo Cortes, CHRA chairman, said that there have been 16 victims of summary executions and seven cases of frustrated murder in Kalinga since January this year. Media reports, meanwhile, place the number of victims of extra-judicial killings in the province at 23 for the same period.

Even lawyers handling cases against Ramos have been threatened and harassed.

For instance, Warren Luyaben, president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines Kalinga chapter, had been receiving what he described as “scary messages.” His residence was sprayed with M-16 bullets on Aug. 16. Northern Dispatch / Posted by Bulatlat

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