Human rights watch
Land Dispute Led to
Zambales Killing - Anakpawis
A land dispute over a
quarrying operation may have led to the March 20 ambush here that nearly
killed Zambales Anakpawis (Toiling Masses) coordinator Amante Abelon and
caused the death of his 35-year old wife, Agnes, and five-year old son,
Ervy John.
by A. Mangampo Ociones
Gitnang Luson News Service
Posted by
Bulatlat
San Marcelino,
Zambales (153 kms. north of Manila)–
A land dispute over a quarrying
operation may have led to the March 20 ambush here that nearly killed
party-list Anakpawis (Toiling Masses) coordinator for Zambales Amante
Abelon and caused the death of his wife and five-year old son.
Abelon’s wife, Agnes,
35, and their son Ervy John, 5, were killed in Sitio (sub-village) Mawaw,
Barangay (village) San Pablo, Castillejos, Zambales after being shot in
the head.
Abelon, 42, a village
councilor in nearby San Rafael, San Marcelino town and vice chairperson of
the Zambales chapter of the militant peasant group Alyansa ng Magbubukid
sa Gitnang Luson (AMGL, Peasant Alliance in Central Luzon) was on board a
motorcycle along with his wife and son when waylaid by still unidentified
assailants.
Local police
authorities said Abelon recognized one of the assailants as an army agent.
But military officials quickly brushed aside the allegation and told media
to wait and “let the police do their job.”
Amante’s father,
Severino Abelon, incumbent councilor and former vice mayor of San
Marcelino told a fact finding mission led by KARAPATAN-Central Luzon March
21 that his son was popular and was involved in helping farmers with land
problems throughout the province.
“Maraming naiinggit o nagagalit sa pagtulong niya at ito marahil ang
dahilan ng kanyang pagkamatay,” (Many are envious or angry because my
son was helping people and this may have led to his death), the elder
Abelon told GLNS.
Quarry
A community organizer
who requested anonymity told the fact-finding mission team that Abelon is
presently helping some farmers who were allegedly victims of land grabbing
and who were displaced from their farms by a quarrying operation in Sitio
Mamaw, Barangay San Pablo Castillejos town.
The quarry sits on a
250-ha. land that was covered by lahar and sand deposits from the 1991 Mt.
Pinatubo eruption.
It started in 2005
and is operated jointly by former San Marcelino mayor Joker Rodriguez and
Manuel Arquero.
The land used to be
very productive since it lies along the Sto. Tomas
River.
Lahar
After their farms were covered by lahar, the farmers tried to make a
living through small-scale quarrying.
In 1993, San Antonio
Farms (SAF), an agricultural company owned by a certain Laurel leased the
land from the farmers for five years.
SAF conducted a
survey to ascertain individual ownerships and boundaries before the land
was cleared and planted with sugar cane.
Three years later,
armed men strafed the bunkhouses of the company, residents said.
Abandoned
After the strafing, the farmhands hired by SAF fled to Pampanga and the
land was abandoned.
The farmers once
again prepared to scrape the lahar off their farms and make it productive.
In 2005, with the SAF
gone, representatives of Arquero and Rodriguez arrived and claimed the
land as theirs, brandishing a very old title under the name of Ceferino
Rodriguez.
Ceferino Rodriguez
was purported to be a very rich man who owned the entire Philippines — a
claim described by the farmers as “preposterous.”
“E, maliit pa ako
nagsasaka na kami diyan, paano naging kanya ang lupa?”
(From the time we were still small we were already tilling the land, how
can they claim that the land is theirs?) a close friend of Abelon and a
batchmate at West Luzon Agricultural College (WLAC), who also asked not to
be named, told GLNS.
Fear
Relatives and friends
believe the quarry issue is the most probable cause of Abelon’s ambush, a
claim supported by Anakpawis members here.
But all refused to be
named because of fear.
“Gusto kasi nila
masolo ang pera sa quarry,”
(They want to keep the
quarry profits to themselves.)
a close relative said.
In the morning of
March 20, Abelon and his family went to the Zambales Electric Cooperative
(ZAMECO) office in San Marcelino to a report a busted electric
connection, the fact finding mission learned.
Riding their
motorcycle, the family later passed by the Castillejos Public Market to
buy a few household items before proceeding to Bgy. San Rafael in San
Marcelino town.
They were waylaid at
around noon, a hundred meters away from the secondary dike in Sitio Mawaw
in the same village where the quarry is located.
Running for
his life
When they heard the
first volley of shots, eyewitnesses interviewed by the fact finding
mission said they ran and took shelter in a nearby hut.
The same eyewitnesses
said they saw Abel running for his life while at least one armed man in a
white shirt repeatedly fired at him. While running, Abel was reportedly
able to call his employer and asked for help.
His wounded body was
found some 70 meters away from his motorcycle and was first brought to the
San Marcelino Emergency Hospital.
Parked
Witnesses further
claimed a dark colored sports utility vehicle was seen some ten meters
away from where Agnes and Ervy John were found dead.
The lifeless body of
Agnes was found embracing her son, as if trying to cover him from danger,
witnesses said. The two victims were found dead with a single bullet wound
each on their heads.
The motorcycle was found parked by the roadside some 10 meters away from
the victims. Witnesses said the victims may have not been immediately
attacked. Abelon may have recognized the assailants and had parked his
motorcycle before they were fired upon, witnesses said.
Nine bullets were
removed from Abelon’s body. He is now under heavy guard at an undisclosed
hospital. Gitnang Luson News Service/Posted by Bulatlat
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