More victims

Aside from Villajuan and the Gallardo couple, other residents who were in the list were also summoned by the soldiers— Eduardo Navalta Jr, the local UMC pastor, Dante Castro, Bayan Muna party chairperson in the village, Arthuro Tarlino, Victor Castaneda, Delfin Castaneda, Rey Doria, Emmie Manahan, Boy Pascua and Boy Ramos, among others.

Tarlino, 47, was made to hold a hand grenade and a plastic bag was put over his head as he was beaten and interrogated. Victor Castaneda was subjected to electrocution and his brother, Delfin, was also beaten and a plastic bag placed over his head. All of the victims suffered injuries.

On November 3, Jason Gallardo was accosted by soldiers on his way to the village hall and punched in the stomach several times. He vomited blood because of the blows. He was being forced to produce the M-16 rifle and money that the soldiers tried to extract from his father.

On November 4, a group of young male teen-agers were forced by the soldiers to beat each other using a paddle. Some had their hair cut as punishment by the soldiers. Many of those who were in the military list have left the village because of fear.

Barangay Conversion

Barangay Conversion (pop. about 700 families) is a poor village nestled in the western slope of the Sierra Madre mountains at the edge of the Pantabangan dam, one of the country’s major dam projects. It is a remote village reachable from Cabanatuan City by a five-hour drive through winding, rough mountain passes.

Residents make a living out of subsistence farming and fishing, making charcoal and gathering forest products. The Gallardo family, like the other victims and rest of the residents live on a hand-to-mouth existence. The village is considered by the military as a stronghold of the NPA.

On November 9, 2001, five young fishermen were killed allegedly by soldiers who were looking for NPA guerillas in Conversion. The victims’ bodies were recovered only after two days on the shore of the dam used as a makeshift docking area for fishing boats. One of the five young men, Leo, is a son of the Gallardo couple.

Mission findings

Among the conclusions of the fact-finding mission are:
* the 48th IB is ‘hamletting’ the village in ‘total disregard of the supremacy of civilian authority and the civil rights’ of residents
* residents are arrested and detained without warrant and subjected to torture, intimidation, harassment and grave threats as part of the government’s counter-insurgency campaign
* torture and threats against the Gallardo couple and their family led them to commit suicide
* the village hall is under control of the 48th IB and barangay officials are required to report to the army commanding officer
* even children were interrogated by the military and teen-agers were subjected to cruel punishment in violation of the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of a Child

The mission team is demanding for the immediate pull-out of the 48th Infantry Battalion from Barangay Conversion. It is also asking for an impartial investigation to be conducted by the Commission on Human Rights to look into the accountability of the commanding officers of the 48th IB and their superiors, and to determine the accountability and civil liability of the State. Gitnang Luzon News Service/Posted by (Bulatlat.com)

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