This story
was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly
newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. V, No. 31, September 11-17, 2005
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
Samar town gripped by terror: For months, the humble town
of Villareal in Samar has been gripped by terror with government troops in
constant operation. A military hit list has frightened residents and led to
abductions, with at least one village leader becoming a victim of brutal
slaying. Incidents of alleged military atrocities have been investigated by the
recent International Solidarity Mission (ISM). 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. 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.
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 © 2004 Bulatlat
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Local Officials in AFP Hit List
With additional report
Bulatlat