Bu-lat-lat (boo-lat-lat) verb: to search, probe, investigate, inquire; to unearth facts Vol. IV, No. 30 August 29 - September 4, 2004 Quezon City, Philippines |
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCHSamar
Villagers Want Soldiers Out Due to Abuses Children
terrorized. Farms destroyed. Houses illegally searched. Residents of a
heavily-militarized village in Samar province have had enough. In a dialog
with local town and military officials, they asked the soldiers to
immediately leave their village. An official of the Commission on Human
Rights (CHR) concurs: Human rights violations occur whenever the military
is present. BY
MAUREEN JAPZON TACLOBAN
CITY - More than 200 residents of the
town of Basey, Samar, a Visayan province south of Manila, have signed a
petition asking for the cessation of military operations in their town.
The
petition was submitted during a Municipal Peace and Order Council (MPOC)
meeting held Aug. 23. Attending the meeting were Basey Mayor Vicente
Labuac along with Basey councilors, Brig. Gen. Anastacio Salud, commanding
officer of the Army’s 801st brigade, Col. Manuel Ramos,
commanding officer of the 46th IB PA,
Basey residents, cause-oriented groups and members of media.
The
Basey MPOC meeting was called in the wake of complaints brought to the
office of the Municipal Council of Basey by farmers over alleged military
abuses during military operations in their villages.
The
council then acted to help the victims file their complaint to the
Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and air it over a local radio station. It
was when the complainants failed to meet earlier with lawyer.Paquito,
Nacino director of CHR Eastern Visayas, that they went to the offices of
the Samahan han Gud-ti ngaParag-uma-Sinirangan Bisayas (Alliance of
Small Peasants in Eastern Visayas or SAGUPA-SB) and the Promotion of
Church People’s Response-Eastern Visayas in Tacloban to seek assistance.
The
groups also decided to hold a fact-finding mission, composed of their
representatives and the Basey town officials. They presented the results
of the mission during the MOPC meeting. Fact-finding
The
fact-finding mission was held Aug. 20 in the interior barrios (villages)
of Basey. Gathered were several affidavits by victims, which verified the
presence of the military under the 46th IB PA led by a Colonel
Ramos. According to the residents’ petition, the soldiers have been in
the area as early as July. In
a sworn statement, Rodrigo Lagucay, 51, of Sitio (sub-village) Ogbok, Brgy.
Villa Aurora, Basey, Samar, recounted his 13-year old son’s ordeal. On
Aug. 7, at around 10 a.m., a group of soldiers approached their house and
suddenly started firing their guns. This caused his son to be frightened
and ran, looking for a place to hide. The soldiers followed him and, upon
reaching his location, trained their guns at him. They asked him if he
knew a certain “Dondon” and where the trail they pointed to was
leading. “My
child answered but his body shook out of fear of the soldiers,” said
Lagucay. Another
resident, Rogelio Amba, 45, of Brgy. Bulao, Basey Samar, said his
daughters were alone in their house around 10:30 a.m. last Aug. 10 when
soldiers came Two soldiers in full battle gear entered without warning and
without showing a search warrant or asking permission searched the house.
Witnesees identified the soldiers as a certain Encalyado and one Lt. Romeo
Duran. Two days later, the soldiers returned and encircled their house,
Amba said. Meanwhile,
Delia Dagumay, 45 of Guinpungduan, Brgy. Cogon Basey, Samar also
complained that on Aug. 17 52 soldiers under the 46th IB PA
came and spent the night at their village. They walked over her plants
when they left the following morning. She said in local dialect, “They
walked on my farm, trampling my banika (upland rice) and mariguso
(vegetable). They were so damaged as if pests attacked them.”
Anacias Palermo, another resident, supports this statement. Meanwhile,
Eva Palermo complained that soldiers slept that same night in their house
without their knowledge. The Palermos were away attending a fiesta in
another town. In her sworn statement, Palermo complained that her chicken
was missing. This was supported by a statement made by Dianito Dagumay, 44
also a resident of the same sitio. Another
statement, signed by Paz Padoc, Adriano Germo and Danny Emberso, all of
Sitio Guinpunduan, stated that on Aug. 17 around 2:30 p.m., 26 armed
soldiers encircled their house. The soldiers claimed that three New
People’s Army guerrillas ran toward their house. The complainants
however said that it was three children whom they identified as Jayson
Obis, 8, Ben Palermo, 11, and Genalyn Dagumay, 7, who ran to their house
when they saw the soldiers. The complainants said the children were
frightened of the soldiers because they were armed with M-16 rifles. All
the sworn statements were presented during the MPOC meeting. One after the
other, the complainants were called to affirm their affidavits by town
councilor and committee on human rights chairperson, lawyer Tabao during
the meeting. MPOC
meeting
Around
300 farmers from Basey attended the MPOC meeting, which was held in the
municipal gymnasium. After Ms. Diana Ragub, SAGUPA information officer,
presented the results of the fact-finding mission, Mayor Labuac, the
presiding officer, received questions and clarifications from those
present. Geneneral
Salud clarified they have no ill intentions for the town of Basey. He said
the 46th IB PA was there to protect the town.
“Kami ay taga-serbisyo sa inyo, binabayaran kami para magbigay
ng serbisyo…nandito kami para hanapin ang armadong grupo… kailangan
naming ang inyong suporta” (We serve you, we are paid to give
service to the public… we are here to look for armed groups… we need
you support.). The
mayor himself did not hold back his reservations over the troop incursions
without first asking the permission or even just informing the Local
Government Unit (LGU). In
an interview with Bulatlat, Mayor Labuac said: “I even had a
heated argument with Col. Ramos because I asked him ‘Why did you make a
courtesy call only now when there are already problems, had you conferred
with me earlier (before the incursion of troops) we could have ironed out
whatever the problem was because we are here to protect the people.’”
It was learned that it was only on Aug. 20 that Col. Ramos talked
with the mayor regarding their presence in Basey. When
asked by Bulatlat, Col. Ramos answered apologetically. He admitted
that they made a mistake in entering the town without informing the LGU.
On the complaints by the villagers, he said it was first time he heard of
them and that they promise to correct the abuses and, if necessary, have
the soldiers pay for the damages. He
clarified that the intention of the national government is to make Basey
peaceful and that the order was to clear Basey of insurgents. Both
Salud and Ramos cited the series of NPA attacks in the island. After
the petition and affidavits were submitted, the MPOC decided to invite in
its next meeting the soldiers who are allegedly responsible for the
abuses. Salud and Ramos promised to present the suspects. CHR’s
side
Later,
in an interview with Bulatlat, CHR’s Atty. Nacino admitted,
“There are many abuses because there is military presence in an area,
kaya nagkakagulo.” He
said that based on the CHR’s record, complaints of human rights
violations occur because of the presence of the military. “Kaya ang
military ang number one na violator dahil sila ang in-contact sa
civilian,” he said. “Kung
nanduon sana ako (in the MPOC meeting) at walang permit ang 46th
IB, at gusto ba ng local government na paalisin ang military, …[I will
tell them] na pack-up now,” he added. Nacino
requested for a copy of the petition so he could “endorse it strongly to
the higher-ups (because) the LGU has the sole authority to allow the
presence of the military.” Bulatlat We want to know what you think of this article.
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