Bu-lat-lat (boo-lat-lat) verb: to search, probe, investigate, inquire; to unearth facts Volume III, Number 50 January 25 - 31, 2004 Quezon City, Philippines |
Pictures of Terror in Mindoro Nineteen families fleeing their homes, a farmer missing, a number of residents picked up and reportedly tortured and human rights activists investigating the reports of violations robbed and harassed. These disturbing pictures came from Occidental Mindoro, showing – human rights volunteers say - an even clearer picture of government forces out to sow terror. BY
DABET CASTAÑEDA In
just a year, the province of Occidental Mindoro experienced a series of military
atrocities that left its residents in a state of fear. Military
presence Troops
belonging to the 16th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine under Col. Salih
Indanan have laid siege to the province, according to human rights group
Karapatan (Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights).
Two thousand soldiers equipped two tanks, five howitzers and three spy
planes are reportedly deployed in the three municipalities of Mamburao, Abra de
Ilog and Paluan. Forced
disappearance Last
Jan. 7, during a military operation in their village, Norberto Vargas, a
peasant, went to the field to feed his cow. Since then, his whereabouts have
remained a question even to his family. Karapatan
reports that witnesses saw Norberto being abducted by unidentified men believed
to be elements of the 16th IB PA in Barangay Wawa, Iriron, Calintaan. Torture In
their search for New People’s Army (NPA) guerrillas, the military under the 16th
IB PA and the 68th IB has pinned down several Mangyan folk, Karapatan
said. On
Jan. 13 at Sitio Aglimasan, Brgy. Harrison, Paluan,
Dino Tobias, a Mangyan native, was reportedly mauled by the soldiers.
Another
villager, Ruel Arindain, said soldiers slapped him each time they passed by his
house. He underwent the ordeal for six days.
In
another incident, Anselmo Lotero said the soldiers hit him twice with a rifle
butt while being held by two other soldiers.
Quick
Reaction Force Through
the efforts of Karapatan and its regional counterpart in Southern Tagalog, a
Quick Reaction Force was formed to investigate the militarization of the area.
However,
in their effort to investigate the incidents, QRF members have become victims
themselves. On
Jan. 22 at around 9:15 a.m., nine members of the QRF on board a government
service vehicle were on their way to Mamburao to arrange their trip back to
Manila. Upon
reaching a Comelec checkpoint, a certain Robert Pababa of the 16th IB
PA ordered their vehicle to stop. Pababa then took the names of the QRF members.
They were also ordered to show their identification cards.
The
team was allowed to leave after 10 minutes. “Hold-up” About
two kilometers away from the checkpoint, four armed men, with faces covered with
fatigue shirts, stopped their vehicle anew. Once they alighted, the armed men
announced it was a hold-up. QRF
members noted that the scenario was reminiscent of the murders of human rights
activist Eden Marcellana and peasant leader Eddie Gumanoy in April 2003 in
Oriental Mindoro. The
armed men managed to take two cellular phones, a shoulder bag and money
amounting to about P2,000. They also threw the vehicle’s key away.
Occidental Mindoro Governor Jose T. Villarosa said in an interview that there are no hold-up gangs in their province, suggesting that the harassment and robbery could have been done by the military to scare human rights groups. Bulatlat.com We want to know what you think of this article.
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