Abra Execs, Village Leaders Call for Troops’ Pullout
Sign Peace Covenant

Fed up with human rights violations, Abra Gov. Vicente Valera and 27 mayors under him have signed a “Peace Covenant” calling for the permanent pull out of the 41st Infantry Battalion of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). In turn, the residents of Baay-Licuanan, Lenneng, and Guinguinabang, Lacub, all villages of Abra province, passed a resolution in support of the covenant.  

By Kimberlie Olmaya Ngabit-Quitasol
NORTHERN DISPATCH
Posted by Bulatlat

BAGUIO CITY — Fed up with human rights violations, Abra Gov. Vicente Valera and 27 mayors under him have signed a “Peace Covenant” calling for the permanent pull out of the 41st Infantry Battalion of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. In turn, the residents of Barangays Baay-Licuanan, Lenneng, and Guinguinabang, Lacub, Abra province (more than 300 kms north of Manila) passed a resolution in support of the covenant.  

Ernesto Quinto, chair of the Lenneng, Kileng Timpuyog Farmers Association (LEKITIFA) said during a press conference on Sept. 7 in Baguio City, peasant folk in his and nearby barangays (villages) of Lacub have experienced grave threats, illegal arrest and search, detention, coercion, intimidation, destruction of property and even death at the hands of soldiers deployed in the province. Quinto is also the former barangay captain (village chief) of Lenneng.

“The soldiers should be removed from our province so we can tend to our rice fields and pasture land, free from fear and human rights violations,” Quinto said in Ilokano.

The residents also accused soldiers of stealing their livestock and crops even as the latter threaten local residents of arrest for being alleged members or supporters of the New People’s Army (NPA). According to them, soldiers pretend to be NPA guerillas to spy on the community. A resident even suffered miscarriage due to fear of the soldiers, they said.

The resolution said that soldiers from the 41^st IB should answer for their offenses, even after they are transferred.

The residents sent the resolution to various government agencies and Abra’s municipal governments for action as well as to NGOs and people’s organizations for support.

Arnel Balucas of the Abra Human Rights Advocates (AHRA) said that the AFP’s list of offenses against Abra residents is growing longer every year. This is alarming, he said, because even with the barangay resolution and peace covenant, AFP troops continue to harass and kill civilians.

Balucas said AHRA documented 14 cases of human rights violations from 2003 to 2004 in Tubo and Sallapadan villages alone. He also said there are undocumented cases in other municipalities.  

He challenged 2^nd Lt. Victor Leopoldo, head of the 41^st IB Philippine Army, and his men to face Lenneng residents in a dialogue on Sept. 24 in Bangued, the provincial capital. The dialogue, he said, is an attempt to put an end to the violence. He added residents are hoping for a positive response from Leopoldo.

In a separate statement, the Cordillera Human Rights Alliance (CHRA) expressed support to the Abra people’s call for the soldiers’ pull out. CHRA said the soldiers’ deployment in Abra coincides with the entry of big mining firms there. There are four mining applications covering the municipalities of Baay-Licuan and Lacub, the alliance said.

Balucas said there have always been direct relations between the massive troop deployment and entry of government-supported projects such as the Chico Dam and Cellophil logging during the Marcos regime. He said the new military deployment aims to stifle the growing resistance of Cordillera residents against destructive projects like mining, dams and logging operations. Nordis/Bulatlat

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