HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
Sorsogon Provincial Board Condemns Political Killings
In
a recently-passed resolution, the Sorsogon provincial board stated that
the political killings in the said province have already reached “horrific
proportions” and that it has “sent fear” among Sorsogueños, “whose
character were inherently God-fearing and peace-loving and has been
subsequently besmirched.”
BY
ANGEL AYALA
Bulatlat
The provincial board of Sorsogon (604
km. south of Manila), which is part of the Bicol region in southernmost
Luzon, has condemned what it described as a spate of political killings in
the said province.
In a recently-passed resolution, the
Sorsogon provincial board stated that the political killings in the said
province have already reached “horrific proportions.” They also stated
that for the past few months, the series of unsolved killings in the
province has “sent fear” among Sorsogueños, “whose character were
inherently God-fearing and peace-loving and has been subsequently
besmirched.”
They further said that whether those
killings were motivated by political principles that call for reforms or
otherwise, “The Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Sorsogon earnestly appeal
(sic) to higher authorities and our brothers on the other side of the law
to preserve peace and order in the province, and come up with more civil
and agreeable terms for the general welfare of the our people,” the
resolution read.
The pronouncement was that, if these
senseless killing would continue, it will “concomitantly result in the
retrogression of the social and economic well-being of the province and
will damage whatever gains we have established.”
The human rights group Karapatan
(Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights) has recorded 26 cases of
political killings in Sorsogon from 2001 to May 2006.
The most recent incident was the
brutal killing of barangay (village) chairman Neal Fulatan, a member of
Bayan Muna (People First)-Irosin, Sorsogon chapter last May 9, 2005. He
was shot dead while attending a concert in the barangay auditorium.
Initial investigation revealed that a lone gunman wearing a hat and shirt
shot Futalan at close range then escaped aboard a motorcycle. Fulatan
suffered six gun shot wounds in different parts of his body.
On March 19, Cris Hugo, a resident of
Irosin and a regional coordinator of the League of Filipino Students (LFS)
was also shot dead while on his way home to his boarding house and on
January 30, Max Frivaldo, a municipal councilor of Irosin, chair of the
committee on human rights and coordinator of Bayan Muna-Irosin was shot
dead while tending to his baby at home.
On Nov. 18, 2005 Ricardo “Ding” Uy,
chairman of Bayan Muna’s Sorsogon City chapter and president of Sorsogon
Independent Media Reporters Inc was shot dead inside his rice mill.
In a statement, Bayan Muna Sorsogon
condemns the brutal killing of Neal Futalan and all the victims of human
rights violation in the province.
“Iisa ang mensaheng gustong ihatid
sa atin ng nagpapatuloy na pamamaslang ng mga aktibistang miyembro ng
progresibong party-list: ang patahimikin at wasakin ang ating nasimulang
pagbabago sa pulitika. Ngunit nagkamali sila sa puntong ito. Higit na
lalakas, lalawak at magpapatuloy ang anumang pagbabagong nasimulan ni
Kasamang Neal Futalan” (The continued killings
of activists belonging to progressive party-list groups have only one
objective: to silence us and halt the changes we have started in politics.
But they have made a mistake at this point. Any change begun by our
comrade Neal Futalan can only further be strengthened, grow and continue.)
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.