This story
was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly
newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. VI, No. 1, February 5-11, 2006
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 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 © 2006 Bulatlat
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