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Justice, Indemnification for Abused Ata-Manobos Pressed

Since the second week of June this year, the Ata-Manobos of barangays Dagohoy and Palma Gil in Talaingod never had a quiet night. Troops belonging to the 72nd IB conducted several military operations in the area since June 18 up to the present in the excuse of pursuing New People's Army guerrillas. These operations have left massive human-rights violations against the indigenous peoples.

By ROSALIE TAGUBA

Camenia Abatan is an Ata-Manobo who lives in sitio Km.31, barangay Dagohoy of Talaingod town in Davao del Norte. On June 23, he went to nearby sitio Santotan to check on his kin upon learning that government troops conducted a military operation in the area. He never went home since that day. His desperate wife sought the help of relatives in finding Camenia. They checked the other sitios where he might have gone to and stayed in order toavoid military troops. But he was not there. Days later, they found his decomposing body buried in a very shallow grave beside the burned house of Datu Nalusi in Santotan. His corpse bore several bruises, wounds and other signs of torture and physical abuse. His family points at the 72nd Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army as the one responsible for his gruesome death.

During the operations, the military often forced local residents to point the hiding places of NPA guerrillas. According to Datu Alobo Tabo, chieftain of sitio Laboo, the military would approach them and force the Ata-Manobos to become military guide in their search for guerrillas. When the Lumads decline, the military would sometimes bribe them with flashlights and cans of sardines. But more often, when denied of their demands, troops would respond by firing warning shots and physical harassment. Suchharassments would ultimately end in the summary executions of Lumad civilians.

"It is not our job to find the NPAs. It's the military's. Why are they forcing us to do their job for them?" lamented Datu Alobo. "We used to live peacefully here. But ever since the military arrived, all we feel is fear and anxiety," he added. After an encounter between the 72nd IB and the NPA guerrillas on June 21, three helicopters strafed the farm and forested areas of Dagohoy.

The house of Simon Kulot was destroyed by the aerial strafing. Most of the corn crops were destroyed. Moreover, four houses in sitio Inaloy a few kilometers away from Km. 31 were burned down, including that of Datu Nalusi’s, which was previously transformed into a makeshift Army camp before soldiers finally burned it down. It was beside this house that the body of Camenia Abatan was found.

Incidentally, Camenia Abatan was the municipal auditor in Talaingod of the party-list group Bayan Muna. Prior to Abatan's disappearance, residents claimed that acertain Pansuban was physically manhandled by the military. He and his friend came across some troops on their way home from Km. 31. After interrogation, Pansuban admitted that he was a member of Bayan Muna. The military instantly grabbed his collar, punched him in the stomach, and accused him of being an NPA supporter. Pansuban's friend was able to run away before the soldiers could touch him. The angry troops continued to beat Pansuban until he passed out. Then, thinking that he was dead, they threw hisfrail body into the creek.

Such military operations prompted residents of different sitios -- including Inaloy, Damagan, Lasakan, Santotan and Nasilaban -- to evacuate their homes for fear of harassments and maltreatment in the hands of soldiers. About 92families from seven communities retreated into the ravines, bushes and innermost part of the forest, forcing them to a dreadful life away from their farm which is their only source of living. They had no access to potable water and exposed to different illnesses and peril.

A series of fact-finding and medical missions conducted in three communities have initially documented at least five cases of death due to diarrhea with symptoms of cholera. Likewise, the Salugpungan ta tanu Igkanugon (Solidarity in Defense of the Ancestral Domain) stated that 29 of their members have died due to various illnesses. Those who died were mostly children. Among the dead were Leysa Andil, Gina Andil, Mongkit Kamag, Salembay Osa, Lukat Dalikamag, and Saldap Anlas.

So far, basic services and assistance from the local government have not reached the area. According to Sr. Mary Antonietta Go of the Solidarity Action Group for Indigenous Peoples (Sagip), the need for the extension of medical services in the said Lumad communities is very crucial for the survival of the Ata-Manobos. "These Lumads are in dire need of medical assistance. Several children have already died of various illnesses and this was due to the forced evacuation caused by military operations in the area," shesaid.

The Provincial Health Office of Davao del Norte has promised to extend medical assistance, but they are yet to take concrete steps in alleviating the plight of the Ata-Manobos affected by diseases and militarization. Rumors have it that the municipal government of Talaingod is blocking the efforts of the provincial governor because of his political differences with the municipal mayor. On the other hand, the local government of Talaingod headed by Mayor Pilar Libayao, wife of ex-mayor Jose Libayao, has not extended any assistance to the Lumads. According to Sagip, since the evacuation of Lumads in 1994 when C. Alcantara & Sons, the plywood company, conducted a land clearing operation in the area, as well as the measles epidemic in 1997 that claimed the lives of 53 Ata-Manobos, not a single aid was extended by the municipal government to the Lumads.

Sagip, Karapatan, Bayan and human-rights groups in Davao are calling for the immediate cessation of military operations in Talaingod. They also call for the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples to immediately conduct a thorough investigation into the reported abuses of the 72nd IB in the said communities. "We demand the indemnification of the relatives of Abatan and all those whose human rights were violated in the course of the military operations. We also demand indemnification for looted, burned and vandalized property of the Ata-Manobo people," Sr. Mary Antonietta said.

Bayan Muna, on the other hand, has pledged to take the issue to the Congress as soon as the party-list group is proclaimed. Bulatlat.com

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