3 of 10 Killed in
Encounter Are Civilians
For the military, the
encounter in Tarlac last Jan. 31 which lasted 10 hours was a big setback
for the New People’s Army (NPA). But for the relatives of some of those
killed, there was honor in how their kin died.
BY DABET CASTAÑEDA
Bulatlat
A victim of the Jan.
31 Tarlac encounter that killed 10 people is autopsied at the
Corpuz Funeral Parlor in Sta. Ignacia town, where the clash took place
PHOTO BY DABET CASTAÑEDA |
STA. IGNACIA,
Tarlac (149 km. north of Manila) – It was almost sunset and several people
have already crowded around the Corpuz Funeral Parlor. All of them though
covered their noses as they went back and forth the morgue to take a look
at the bodies of those who were killed in a 10-hour encounter between New
People’s Army (NPA) guerrillas and soldiers last Jan. 31. Upon entering
the morgue, the heavy smell of formalin stings the eyes, leaving one
teary-eyed.
The morgue was
cramped to say the least. Nine bodies, one of them female, lay side by
side. Their faces showed traces of pain and their almost clenched fist
somewhat demonstrated not just the pain but also the anger they felt.
Except for the body of a woman, the bodies wore nothing but underwear.
Behind the morgue, pieces of worn-out
clothes, rubber shoes, plastic bags and backpacks, all soaked in blood,
were scattered all over. Just a few feet away, embalmers were working on
another body, placed on top of makeshift table. It was that of a man with
scars on the right side of the chest, his face beyond recognition ― not
surprising really, since half of his head was gone.
|
The funeral owner said soldiers from
the 71st Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army (IB PA)
brought four of the 10 bodies at around 4 p.m. while the rest were brought
in around 6 p.m. on the same day of the encounter. He said a military
helicopter flew in the bodies from Pansigwan Valley, Sta. Ines West, a
neighboring town of Sta. Ignacia, after the encounter which reportedly
also left a soldier dead.
Come nighttime, relatives and friends
started to arrive to claim their dead. Each of the unclothed bodies was
placed in white wooden casket, with embossed gold designs.
A fact-finding mission by the regional
chapter of human rights group Karapatan (Alliance for the Advancement of
Peoples’ Rights) later identified three of the 10 victims as
Allan Ibasan, 18, and Dante Salgado, 17,
both of Villa Aglipay, San Jose; and William Santos of Barangay (village)
San Pedro, San Jose town. According to Karapatan, the three were
civilians.
Witnesses said
Ibasan and Salgado were arrested by soldiers in Barangay Sta. Inez West
last Jan. 30 while gathering bamboo. The next thing the relatives knew,
the two were in the funeral shop, dead from several gunshot wounds.
The seven
casualties who were suspected as NPA members were Jose Roman Pagala, 33,
and Charlie Mamucod of Barangay San Isidro, Tarlac City; Marlon Manabat,
39, of Sitio Tanpoco, Barangay Matatalaib, Tarlac City; Nestor Capian of
Villa Aglipay, San Jose, Tarlac; Erica Lopez of Barangay Iba, San Jose,
Tarlac; Melchor Simon, 28, of Barangay Mapalacsiao; and Darry Garcia, 21,
of Barangay Balete, Tarlac City.
Meanwhile, about
500 families were evacuated to David Elementary School in San Jose town.
More than just statistics
Immediately after the alleged
encounter, Col. Preme Monta of the Northern Luzon Command said 18 NPA
guerillas were killed, eight of whom were left at the encounter site
because their bodies were reportedly mangled due to bomb explosion. Monta
said the eight were unrecognizable.
Three days after the alleged encounter
that the military is claiming to be the biggest setback for the NPA in
Central Luzon in recent years, there were several reports on the real
number of casualties from both sides.
Karapatan’s fact-finding report, on
the other hand, documented only 10 deaths. The local NPA unit in the
province has not released any statement on the incident.
Stories behind the dissent
Observers see the “victorious
encounter” as important in boosting the morale of the Armed Forces of the
Philippines (AFP) which is having a hard time dealing with its disgruntled
young officers and soldiers.
But for the families, friends and
supporters of those who died, they were more than just statistics.
At Marlon Manabat’s wake in his
family’s ancestral home in Barangay Matatalahib, Tarlac City, relatives
and neighbors crowded the entrance. Funeral lights lit the part of the
house where the casket stood but the rest of the old house was dark.
Holding back his tears, Manabat’s
62-year old father who asked not to be named said that they had to tap on
their neighbor’s power line that night because theirs was cut four years
ago. “Wala na kasi kaming pambayad (ng kuryente)” (We no longer
have money to pay for electricity) he said.
The Manabats’ house is located in a
poor community scheduled for demolition in 2004. The younger Manabat, who
was then president of the Tampoco-Centro Eagle Homeowners Association (TCEHA),
led the community to fight the threats of eviction.
His father said Manabat spent around
10 years working in a garment factory in Novaliches where he became a
union member. It was then his political consciousness developed.
Manabat, however, was forced to return
to their home in Tarlac when his mother died in 2001 and he had to attend
to their sari-sari (variety) store. The children in the community
called him “Mr. Cheng,” the man who sold all kinds of toys, from yoyo
to the battery-operated toy car Tamiya.
The father said he never knew his son
joined the NPA until he saw him in October last year, a few days before
his birthday. “Pinapunta lang kami dun sa isang baryo at dun lang kami
nagkausap,” (We were asked to go to a village and it was there that we
talked) he said.
Since then he worried about his son
and fretted each time he would hear of an encounter between soldiers and
guerillas. His fear came true when, at around 2 p.m. last Feb. 1, he
received news that Manabat was one of the casualties in the Jan. 31
encounter.
“Kahit hinanda ko na ang sarili ko
sa ganitong kaganapan, masakit din pala pag dumating na.”
(Even if I had prepared myself for this, it still hurt when
it finally came.)
It was the same case with the wife of
another casualty, Jose Roman Pagala, who also asked her name not to be
mentioned. She said her tears have dried up but the agony remains.
“Mabigat sa dibdib,” (It’s heavy on the heart.) was all she could say
before she could go near her husband’s casket.
The two met in 1991 when Pagala was a
youth organizer who integrated with the masses in Barangay Kapehan, an
adjacent village in Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac City where her family
lived.
Pagala’s wife said that they met again
in 1993 when it was her turn to integrate in a peasant community. Pagala
was then already a member of the NPA. She felt surprised because she
thought it “very unlikely” for Pagala to join the NPA because he was
gentle, thin, short and fair-skinned.
But his physical limitations were
compensated by his skills in community organizing and facilitating
educational discussions, Pagala’s wife said. He also proved to be a good
fighter. “At sinasabi ng mga kasama nya hindi sya natataranta pag may
mga operasyon sila.” (His comrades said he doesn’t lose composure
during operations.)
They got engaged in 1995 and were
married in 1996.
Though they spent much of their
married life away from each other, Pagala’s wife said he was never
negligent. She said that he would always send letters and small notes and
give her trinkets made of leaves or fine wood (nito). She has kept
all his letters which are now a foot tall. Pagala was also a doting father
who tirelessly played with their children the very few times he visited
them.
Both Manabat and Pagala are most
missed by their families. “Nagpapasalamat ako sa lahat ng tumanggap,
nagpakain, nagpatulog at nagmahal sa anak ko. Masakit man ang pagkawala
nya, ipinagmamalaki ko na namatay sya ng may ipinaglalaban,” (I thank
those who accommodated, fed, provided shelter for the night and loved my
son. Although his death pains me, I am proud to say that he died for a
cause) Manabat’s father said. Bulatlat
BACK TO
TOP ■
PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION ■
COMMENT
© 2006 Bulatlat
■
Alipato Publications
Permission is granted to reprint or redistribute this article, provided
its author/s and Bulatlat are properly credited and notified.
