GRIPPED BY TERROR: Villareal town (right) is presently plagued by constant military operations, and its residents live in fear for their lives as its local officials - including the mayor (top right photo) are in the military's hit list.                                                                                                                       Photos by Dabet Castañeda

VILLAREAL, Samar – At least 27 local officials of Villareal, a farm and fishing town in western Samar, central Philippines are believed to be in the Order of Battle (OB) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). Included in the alleged list, which was provided the mayor’s office through mail, are 11 officials from seven barangays (villages). 

The hit list, it was learned, has created a climate of terror in the town and has derailed the construction of a project long-awaited by the rural folk: an 8-km road which is sponsored by Bayan Muna (BM or people first) party-list.

Town Mayor Reynato Latorre said there used to be around a hundred men working everyday on the road project but the number has since dwindled to only 20. The project, he said, has been maliciously tagged by the military as a project of the New People’s Army (NPA), the armed component of the Communist Party of the Philippines, to frighten the residents.

Fifteen-year-old Julius, son of salvage victim Constancio Calubid, stopped schooling since his father was abducted allegedly by soldiers on July 16.  Photo by Dabet Castañeda

Belying the military claim, Latorre proudly told a team from the International Solidarity Mission (ISM) that visited the town mid-August that the project was actually a bayanihan (a Filipino traditional practice where neighbors help each other build roads or houses). Coming from the north, Villareal can be reached after a one-and-a-half hour drive along San Juanico Bridge, the country’s longest bridge that connects the island provinces of Samar and Leyte. The town’s villagers farm on its vast agricultural lands while others fish on the rich blue sea just off Villareal. Villareal is also the hometown of the Redemptorist priest, Fr. Rudy Romano, whose abduction by military agents in 1985 or just a year before the fall of the Marcos dictatorship, rocked the country. Romano was declared missing and is believed to have been summarily executed. Also listed as “target personalities” in the hit list are six officers of BM including the mayor and his vice, Baban Cabueñas. Five others are listed as “supporters” while five more are listed either as runners/couriers, collectors or sympathizers of “CTs” or communists terrorists.

The list, said Latorre, also tasks military units to monitor the persons named in the list and to submit a special report to the intelligence unit of the 8th Infantry Division, Philippine Army. The 8th Infantry Division was under the command of Maj. General Jovito Palparan who has been reassigned to Central Luzon.

Confirmed list

The list has been confirmed by a contact from the military, Latorre said. Due to this, both Latorre and Cabueñas told the ISM team they have taken extra precautions. “Tahimik dito sa lugar namin, hindi ko akalain na mangyari sa amin ito” (This place used to be peaceful, I never expected that this would happen to us), the mayor said.

When he was the division commander in Eastern Visayas, Palparan would place a “red mark” on the map of Villareal during military briefings, Latorre recalled. “Ibig sabihin, marami daw insurgents dito sa amin” (He meant there were many insurgents here), he said.

Most gruesome

By far one of the most gruesome killings in Samar took place last July, the ISM team also found. (Palparan would be reassigned mid-August.)

Almost midnight of July 16, five soldiers in civilian clothes reportedly tortured and abducted Constancio Calubid, 50, married, and member of the Lupong Tagapamayapa (Peacekeeping Council) of Barangay San Andres, Villareal. The incident was witnessed by Calubid’s wife, Rosalina, his sister, Nieves and his son, Julius. 

The soft-spoken Julius, 15, saw his father at the back of their house being beaten up by the five burly men in civilian clothes and armed with high-powered rifles. They were soldiers, he said. Attesting to the incident, a neighbor, Jose Pedoco, who lived along the seashore, said he saw around 60 soldiers enter their village that same night. They came aboard three motor boats and two bigger passenger boats. Latorre also said that soldiers operate in their villages regularly even in the absence of a military detachment. “They have mobile detachments and they usually operate at night or at dawn,” he said.

The victim's deaf and mute sister,  Maribel, points to where Calubid was beaten allegedly by soldiers Photo by Dabet Castañeda

Nieves said she went to the barangay captain’s (village chief) house to ask for help. But even the presence of the barangay captain, Ramon Taboy Jr., could not prevent the soldiers from beating up and eventually abducting Calubid.

Taboy said he saw the victim Calubid already unconscious. Thinking that Calubid was already dead, he managed to tell the soldiers, “Iwanan nyo na yan kasi patay na” (Leave him, I think he is dead).

But the soldiers instead shouted at Taboy saying, “Isa ka pa kapitan, NPA ka!”(You’re one of them kapitan, you are also an NPA guerilla).

The last time Nieves saw Calubid alive was when the soldiers took the almost lifeless body of her husband. Other reports said that when the barrio folks pleaded to the men in uniform to stop, the poor man was hogtied to a bamboo pole. Then they took him away.

Twelve days later, Taboy received a call from Marlon Camilon, Municipal Development Operations Officer (MDOO) of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) telling him that a “salvage victim” (i.e., victim of summary execution) has been found near the DILG office.

Toenails gone

At the municipal hall, relatives identified the body as that of Calubid. An autopsy report also revealed that the body bore six knife wounds and signs of hemorrhage. The victim’s toenails were also pulled out.

Apparently, Calubid was not the only person abducted during that night.

Juliana Sulayao, 57, a local masseuse, said in an interview that her nephew, Ismael Sulayao, a barangay tanod (village security force) went missing on the same day that Calubid was abducted. It was only during the early morning of Aug. 8 - or 23 days later - that he came home aboard a small boat driven by a cousin.

Upon arrival, Ismael asked Juliana to massage his back. “Kasi daw masakit” (He told me it was aching), the old woman said.

Juliana said she noticed signs of internal bleeding on her nephew’s back but he refused to tell where and how he got it. Ismael has since left the village with his family. “Natakot na siguro” (I think he got scared), Juliana said of her nephew.

A family and a town’s loss

Taboy believes Calubid’s death is a big loss to their village. He said the victim was one of the most trusted local members of the Lupong Tagapamayapa (Peacekeeping Council) since 2002. “Malaki ang tulong nya sa akin dahil pag may gulo sa lugar nya sya na ang umaayos. Lupon sya pero kaya nya mag-peace and order” (He is a big help for me because he takes care of all problems and conflicts in his area. He is just a member of the council but he can handle all peace and order problems here), he said.

Meanwhile, Julius, a Grade 6 student, has stopped schooling. “Kasi baka kunin din ako ng mga sundalo” (I am afraid that soldiers might also abduct me), he said.

“Nakakaawa talaga ang pamilya nyang naiwan. Nakikita ko ang trabaho nya noon ay tamang-tama lang para buhayin ang kanyang pamily” (I pity his family. His income was barely enough to support his family), Taboy said.

What continues to fear the residents of Villareal is the fact that soldiers keep coming back.

“May napapansin kaming mga militar na nagpupunta pero hindi naman pumapasok sa mga bahay. Nakikita lang namin yung bakas ng combat shoes. Halos gabi-gabi may mga bakas”(We know that soldiers regularly conduct operations in the area though they don’t enter the houses. We see prints of combat boots all over the village almost every night), he said.

Meantime, it is not just Ismael who has gone into hiding since the incident shook their village. Taboy said most of the village’s officials have left since the two were abducted. With additional report / Bulatlat

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