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Now available – 2010 Year-End Report on the Human Rights Situation in the Philippines

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The 2010 Year-End Report on the Human Rights Situation in the Philippines is now available for download via the KARAPATAN website: http://www.karapatan.org

or click here to download the report

KARAPATAN is an alliance of human rights organizations and programs, human rights desks and committees of people’s organizations, and individual advocates committed to the defense and promotion of people’s rights and civil liberties.  It monitors and documents cases of human rights violations, assists and defends victims and conducts education, training and campaign.

Six of Morong 43 sue Arroyo, AFP officials for ‘torture’

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Andreo Calonzo, GMA News

Six of the so-called “Morong 43″ health workers filed on Monday a P15-million damage suit against former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and several military officials for alleged “physical and psychological” torture committed against them while they were detained last year.

The Morong 43 health workers were detained for 10 months last year on suspicion that they were New People’s Army members.

The health workers filed the lawsuit against Arroyo, and nine other government and military officials before the Quezon City Hall of Justice at 11:00 a.m. on Monday.

The six complainants in the case were:
# Dr. Merry Mia-Clamor;
# Dr. Alexis Montes;
# Gary Liberal;
# Ma. Teresa Quinawayan;
# Mercy Castro, and
# Reynaldo Macabenta.

Liberal said he and the five other complainants wanted to send a “strong message” to human rights violators and to make those responsible for their alleged torture accountable for their actions.

“Isa ito sa mga hakbang namin para wakasan ang impunity na ginagawa ng mga human rights violators,” he said in a phone interview with GMA News on Monday afternoon.

He said that former President and incumbent Pampanga Rep. Arroyo was included in the case because she was the military’s commander-in-chief during the time of their alleged torture.

“Sinampahan namin siya ng kaso dahil sa command responsibility. Siya ang commander-in-chief at dapat alam niya ang ginagawa ng mga sundalo niya sa field,” he said.

Elena Bautista-Horn, the former President’s spokesperson, refused to comment on the case filed by the health workers while waiting for documents related to the lawsuit.

“Our lawyers have advised us to wait for a copy of the complaint before issuing any statement,” she said in a text message to GMA News Online.

Aside from Arroyo, the others charged were:
# former Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales;
# former chief of staff Gen. Victor Ibrado,
# former chief of staff Gen. Delfin Bangit,
# Maj. Gen. Jorge Segovia (former Philippine Army 2nd Infantry Division commander),
# Lt. Col. Cristobal Zaragosa (2nd Infantry Division commander of intelligence unit),
# Major Manuel Tabion (2nd Infantry Division warden),
# Col. Aurelio Balbad (202nd Infantry Battalion Commander),
# Col. Jaime Abawag (16th Infantry Battalion Commander), and
# Police Superintendent Marion Balolong (Rizal provincial police office commander)

Armed Forces spokesperson Brig. Gen. Jose Mabanta, for his part, called the complaints filed by the six health workers as “hazards of the trade.”

“Ever since weve gone into this internal security operation we fell this will be part and parcel of what were going into this is what we may call hazards of the trade as we move on and ensure that rules of engagements are abided with,” Mabanta said in a separate interview.

“These are some of the things we have to face. With that in mind, we welcome this development,” he said.

“One thing we see forthcoming is the truth will surface. We are waiting for this. We hope authorities will come up with decisions based on the truth in order for the accused to clear their names,” he added.

The complainants were among the 43 health workers arrested and detained in February last year, four months before Arroyo’s term as president ended.

The 43 health workers were accused of allegedly conducting explosives training at a private residence in Morong, Rizal at the time of their arrest.

In December last year, President Benigno Aquino III ordered the dropping of charges against the health workers, who were eventually freed days after Aquino’s pronouncement. – VVP, GMA News

Soldiers still target children

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April 4, 2011, by Marya Salamat,Bulatlat.com

MANILA – When President Benigno Simeon Aquino announced a new counter-insurgency program in place called Oplan Bayanihan, respecting human rights was said to be one of its biggest changes from the one it replaced, the bloody Oplan Bantay-Laya. In the last few months though, rights advocates noted that not much seems to have really changed in the military’s conduct.

For instance, last March 4 when more than 30 members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines conducted military operations in the hinterlands of Carolina village in Matuguinao, Samar, the residents reported that they were forcibly summoned to a meeting at the town plaza. They were first alerted by a five-minute gunfire, followed by soldiers burning of a house near their village.

Based on a report of the Katungod-Sinirangan Bisayas, a regional alliance for human rights in the area, the soldiers pelted with stones the houses of residents who did not immediately heed their call for a meeting. In one of the houses “visited” by soldiers to check if the residents had complied with their summons, they entered a house with four children inside, aged from four to 12 years old. The children had been left on their own because their father was picked up by the military to attend the town meeting.

According to the Katungod-SB report, a soldier acting as team leader interrogated the children, asking them if they have a gun. When the children answered no, the soldier accused them of lying. Only when the eldest child told the soldier to search the house if they didn’t believe them did the soldiers leave.

“The Internal Peace and Security Plan Bayanihan of the AFP, on paper, gives primacy to human rights. Does this incident show any iota of respect to human rights?” asked Kathrina R. Castillo, head of the documentation of Katungod– SB.

Children rights must be respected at all times, Castillo reiterated. But this incident that they had documented “shows the ignorance of soldiers and the culture of disrespect and shroud of impunity arrogated by the soldiers to themselves as they obediently implement the counter-insurgency program devised by the US–Aquino III Regime”, Castillo said.

In Surigao del Sur, 110 families including children were forced to flee their homes as the military indiscriminately fired canons targeting their areas last month. Karapatan-Caraga Secretary General Dr. Naty Castro said in a statement, “The conduct of these active combat operations clearly shows that the AFP regards civilians as collateral damage in its anti-insurgency campaign. Oplan Bayanihan reveals itself as no different from Arroyo’s Oplan Bantay Laya after all.”

Children as Fair Game for Military Operations

Last week marked the fourth death anniversary of Grecil Buya, a nine-year old victim of strafing by the military in New Bataan town in Davao City. After four years, children’s rights advocates lamented that justice has been elusive for her and other children who were falsely accused as child soldiers.

“The case of Grecil Buya is just one of the many cases of continuing abuse targeting children, said Edessa Campos, Advocacy Officer of the Children’s Rehabilitation Center (CRC). “Unfortunately, the perpetrators remain unpunished and the military’s habit of misrepresenting children as “child soldiers” for their counter-insurgency operations remains unchecked,” said Campos.

Grecil was the 9-year old child killed by the military’s 67th Infantry Battalion in an encounter with the New People’s Army in New Bataan Compostela Valley. The military claimed that Grecil was an NPA child soldier and that she was carrying an M-16 rifle and firing at them. But based on the frail body structure of the diminutive Grecil, it turned out that it was physically impossible for her to have carried an M-16 rifle and fired it. Documents also confirmed that Grecil was a studious grade two student of Simsimen Elementary School.

As of 2010 the CRC has documented 19 cases of children who were mislabeled by the military as “child soldiers” from Mindanao. Campos said “The misrepresentation of children as ‘child soldiers’ is a clear violation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).”

Last year, the CRC handled the case of “Amanda”, a minor at the time. The soldiers from the 84th Infantry Battalion under 10th Infantry Division presented Amanda to the media as a “child soldier” last September. “Amanda” was supposedly included in the top three list of “child soldiers” in the Philippines. But CRC proved these allegations were wrong, Campos said.

“We urge the Aquino government to have concrete and sustainable program for children affected by armed conflict and, in general, to protect the basic rights of children,” Campos said. (http://bulatlat.com)

URGENT ALERT: Another union leader in Cavite murdered; workers suspect management involvement

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IMMEDIATE DISSEMINATION AND ACTION REQUESTED
04 April 2011

Dear Friends,

The Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR) calls on everyone to take action with regards the murder Celito Baccay, a union leader in a steel factory in Dasmariñas, Cavite province.  Baccay was killed while driving his motorcycle on his way home after his work shift last March 8, 2011. A fact-finding team composed of staff of the Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR), Workers Assistance Center (WAC), and members of the Solidarity of Cavite Workers (SCW) found out that Baccay’s killing could be union-related.The team also discovered that continuing threats to security of his co-unionists prevent their union activities to take place.

Case details (Based on the Fact-finding mission report of CTUHR, WAC and SCW)

Please note:  Identities of the witnesses and workers withheld due to fear of retaliation from the perpetrators. Their names were changed.

At around 10 pm of March 8, 2011, Cielito Baccay, board member of MAGIKWO (Maeno-Giken Workers Organization, went out of Maeno Giken Inc. plant in the FCIE after working overtime. Riding his red Honda Wave motorcycle, he took his usual route eastward going to his home at Carmona Cavite. He drove along Governor’s Drive with two other co-workers,  Alpha and Bravo who were also boarding their motorcycles.

At approximately 10:20 p.m. Baccay passed the Baranggay Langkaan 1 Bridge of the Governor’s Drive, more or less one (1) kilometre away from FCIE. Alpha and Bravo then heard a motorcycle crash behind them.  Knowing that Baccay was behind, they stopped and checked for his condition. They then saw Baccay and his motorcycle crashed at the sidewalk of the opposite lane approximately 50 meters away from the bridge. Alpha then immediately called through a cellular phone co-worker Charlie.  At that time, the Alpha and Bravo presumed that it was just a common motorcycle accident since they didn’t notice any gunshot wound or hear any gunfire. Charlie who is staying outside of the FCIE compound flagg ed the company transport service vehicle (Hyundai Starex van) full of co-workers to ask for help. They arrived at the scene and saw Baccay lying on the ground unconscious. They immediately rushed Baccay to the De La Salle University Medical Center (also in Dasmariñas) where he was immediately treated.

Baccay arrived with vital signs at the hospital but was did not survive. He was then declared dead by his attending physician at around 10:45 p.m.  It was in the hospital that the workers discovered that Baccay was assassinated when police officers came and told them.

At the scene of the motor crash, PO2 Aaron Abesamis and PO2 Figueroa of Dasmariñas Police (PNP) conducted initial investigation. According to PO2 Abesamis, they responded at the incident after the village police (Baranggay Tanod) of Baranggay Langkaan requested their assistance. In a Baranggay blotter dated March 8, 2011, the Baranggay police accounted that they heard gunfire at 10:30 p.m. They then immediately went to the area where they heard the gunfire and saw Baccay’s body beside a Honda Wave motorcycle with plate # 7937 PU.

The police blotter showed that the responding police officers found one (1) empty shell of .9 mm calibre pistol while one (1) deformed bullet slug of the same firearm was found inside Baccay’s jacket. As of March 22, 2011 PO2 Abesamis said that a follow-up investigation is yet to be made.  Baccay’s remains were examined for autopsy immediately after the incident but the result is not yet available.

Most people in the area denied any knowledge of the incident simply claiming that they heard gunfire during that night. Co-worker Alpha and Bravo accounted that they never observed any vehicle that passed through them when they turned back to see Baccay.

It appears that no eyewitness could completely determine the identity of the perpetrators.

Fellow unionists of Baccay however suspect that the Maeno Giken Inc. management is behind the killing.  According to them, they cannot recall any other enemy of Baccay except the Maeno Giken management and that it has sole motive of killing Baccay because the management does not want to recognize their union and is doing everything to destroy the union.  The management is also aware that Baccay is one of the most staunchest leaders of the union.

Also, various incidents and circumstances involving Baccay and Gart Dennis Melchor, Maeno-Giken Vice president for operation had prompted the workers in thinking that Melchor could have had knowledge on Baccay’s killing.  The workers strongly believed that the previous unpleasant events between Baccay and Melchor could be related to the killing.

Circumstances before the incident

At 9:00 a.m. of March 8, few hours before Baccay was killed, a heated argument between him and Human Resource Manager Annaliza Melchor (wife of Gart Dennis Melchor) occurred. The argument started when Baccay tried to defend co-worker Delta who was being forced by Melchor to sign a memorandum accusing the co-worker of not wearing the complete PPE (Personal protective equipment) during duty.  Baccay ordered Delta not to sign the memorandum. This irritated Melchor which then accused Baccay of tolerating his co-workers’ misconduct. Baccay insisted that Delta did not violate any policy because he saw Delta wore his complete PPE during the day he was accused of not wearing it.

On March 7 at 6:30 a.m, a day before Baccay’s murder, Gart Dennis Melchor went out of the plant and talked to co-worker Echo at the company parking lot.  Melchor then pointed at two red motorcycles while still talking to Echo as if they are talking about it.  About 15 meters away, Baccay together with co-worker Mike saw what Melchor is doing from the window of the company’s locker room.  He then jokingly told Mike, “Pare pustahan tayo, motor ko ang hinahanap ni Garto.” (I bet that Gart is looking for my motorcycle).

On March 9, a day after Baccay was killed Mike got the chance to approach Echo. He then asked what Echo and Melchor chatted about last March 7.  Echo then told that Mr. Melchor during that time was asking who are of the owners of the red motorcycles at the parking lot and told him that one of those motorcycles is owned by Baccay.

Leonila Baccay, Celito Baccay’s wife, also reported that the management seemed to be angrier towards her husband lately when he turned down a promotion offer.  The management offered Baccay the position for a company team leader but he declined the offer because he knew that it would disqualify him from being a union leader. Leonila said that “Si Bucks ay ang taong naninindigan sa prinsipyo niya” (Bucks is the type of person that is steadfast to live with his principles).

Workers of Maeno Giken Inc. also claimed that harassment against them heightened when they  organize the union.  They narrated that Melchor is the most strict and rigid among all management officials against the unionists. The workers also described him as assertive and intimidating.  They felt alarmed about Melchor’s attitude of bringing his firearms often, cleaning and loading the pistols with bullets, at the workplace.  The workers are also aware of Melchor’s connection with the army and police officers because he is a gun enthusiast and a member of a gunners’ club.

Baccay, according to the workers is the archrival of Melchor inside the workplace. Melchor’s dominant attitude clashes with Baccay’s adamancy.  According to the workers, Baccay is the only one who can resist Melchor’s authority.

During the height of the certification election campaign last August 2010, Melchor also dissuaded the workers from voting for the union.  Some of the workers recalled Melchor’s announcement to the workers during a company general assembly: “hindi ako mangingiming mag-laglag ng ilan sa inyo (I will not hesitate to eliminate some of you).  The workers believe that the announcement is the threat of the Maeno Giken management to those who campaign in favor of the union.

When MAGIKWO lost in the certification election over a No union choice last September 17, 2010, the workers’ conditions reportedly worsened.  All known union supporters and officers including Baccay reported to have experienced anti-union discrimination such as excessive implementation of disciplinary actions and malicious transfer of their work assignments.  Also, after the said date the management duplicated the programs and services being provided by the union to dissuade other workers from seeking help from the union.  But despite its loss, the union has continued to exist defending the workers inside the company from abuses.

Co-worker Oscar also narrated that Baccay was frequently being hounded by men in a motorcycle every time he went home after his work shift from the month of September to November 2010.  The hounding temporarily stopped when Baccay was assigned to work for Terumo Corp. from November to December to isolate him from the other workers. During the past months, Oscar also reported that Baccay was frequently being insulted by company president Shinichiro Maeno, and Gart Dennis Melchor.

Other workers were not spared by intimidation and harassments.  Oscar himself narrated having experienced some form of surveillance and intimidation when in September 19, 2010 around 10:0 a.m, two strange men riding on an unregistered motorcycle, wearing helmets, motorcycle jackets and dark pants passed at his house somewhere in Cavite twice while looking inside. Another group of strange men were observed staying near the house of co-worker Romeo also in Cavite.  Those men were reportedly asked information about the worker.

About the victim

Celito Baccay was one of the pioneer members of the Maeno Giken Workers Organization.  As one of the longest-serving worker (his working tenure was 5 years), Baccay was one of the pioneers of MAGIKWO.  Co-workers of Baccay consider him as their founder and the bravest among the union leaders. Having a background on unionism during his previous employment at Cathay Packaging, Baccay was also the mentor of the younger leaders of MAGIKWO.  It was Baccay who normally confronts the Maeno Giken management when co-workers are being scolded and given excessive disciplinary actions. Accoding to them, “Hindi siya natitinag, di natatakot, talagang tumatayo at lahat ng galit kaya niyang saluhin kaya sa kanya kami nahugot ng lakas.”

About the company

Maeno Giken Inc. is a Japanese owned company operating inside the First Cavite Industrial Estate (FCIE) in Dasmariñas Cavite. It has a total workforce of 100 where 90 are rank & file workers. The company manufactures steel structures and parts of heavy equipments like container crane, fuel and chemical tanks. Their products are used locally by different Japanese-owned companies while half of their products are exported to Japan.  Today the company is headed by Shinichiro Maeno as the President while Gart Dennis Melchor is the Vice-President for Operations.

Suggested action

Please write letters to the authorities below asking for.

1.     An immediate, impartial and more thorough investigation on the murder of Celito Baccay be carried out;
2.     Immediate filing of complaints on criminal court to bring the perpetrators to justice;
3.     The families and co-unionists be indemnified;
4.     An investigation on the reported harassments and surveillances on leaders and members of MAGIKWO;
5.      Necessary and prompt steps to protect the right to unionize of the workers in Maeno Giken Inc.

Kindly send your letters to:

His Excellency Benigno Aquino III
President
Republic of the Philippines
Malacanang Palace
JP Laurel Street, San Miguel
Manila 1005
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 736 1010
Tel: +63 2 735 6201 / 564 1451 to 80

Ms. Loretta Ann Rosales
Chairperson
Commission on Human Rights
SAAC Bldg., Commonwealth Avenue
U.P. Complex, Diliman
Quezon City
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 929 0102
Tel: +63 2 928 5655 / 926 6188
E-mail: [email protected]

Director General Raul Bacalzo
Chief, Philippine National Police (PNP)
Camp General Rafael Crame
Quezon City
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2724 8763
Tel: +63 2 726 4361/4366/8763
E-mail: [email protected]

Hon. Leila de Lima
Secretary
Department of Justice (DOJ)
DOJ Bldg., Padre Faura
1004 Manila
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 521 1614
E-mail: [email protected]

Hon. Rosalinda Baldoz
Secretary
Department of Labor and Employment
7/F DOLE Building,
Intramuros Manila NCR 1002
PHILIPPINES
Tel: +63 2 527 2131
E-mail: [email protected]

Kindly furnish us a copy of the mails you will be sending to the authorities. Cc  it to [email protected] or to our mailing address Rm 702 Culmat Bldg. 126 E. Rodriguez Avenue, Quezon City 1102 Philippines. You can also fax it thru +632.411.0256.

Thank you very much for your support. Union organizing is a right not a crime. Defend Trade Union Rights, Protect the Workers. Stop the killings! Uphold Freedom to form Unions!

Sincerely,

Center for Trade Union and Human Rights
702 Culmat Bldg, 127 E. Rodriguez Avenue
Quezon city, 1112 Philippines
Telefax No. 632.4110256
email:[email protected]
website: www.ctuhr.org

CTUHR is an independent non government organization engaged in documentation, research and investigation of human rights violations committed against workers. It is also engaged in education, training and advocacy for workers rights and assist in the formation of workers and community organizations in the Philippines.

Indigenous center for lumads decry military abuses, attacks against schoolchildren

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By Ina Alleco Silverio, Bulatlat.com

Evidently not content with tagging ordinary civilians as members of the New People’s Army (NPA), the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) continue to use children in its campaign to demonize the revolutionary forces.

According to a report by Katribu Party-list, soldiers belonging to the 73rd Infantry Battalion forced 10-year old Manuel (not his real name) to hold a chain of sub-machine gun bullets and carry an M-16 rifle. The soldiers then photographed the child and distributed it to local media with the caption “NPA child warrior going to school in Dlumay.”

Manuel is a Blaan student living in the remote village of Dlumay.

Katribu Party-list has released a statement saying that this was the latest in a series of vicious and systematic acts of harassment the 73rd IB against has perpetrated against the Center for Lumad Advocacy and Services (Clans) and its projects in the communities it serves in Upper Suyan, Malapatan, Sarangani Province.

The organization of indigenous people said that since November 2010, Clans staff, schoolchildren and their parents, and community leaders have been subjected to interrogation, harassment, vilification and ridicule.

“The soldier even went as far as ordering a Blaan family to exhume their dead pastor, who died of lingering illness, because he was suspected as an NPA killed in action,” said Clans.

Staff members of Clans said they tried to document these atrocities in detail.

“For the past months we have been trying hard to stand our ground in defense of our school and our community against against the platoon of gun-toting government soldiers who would not let us have a day of peace,” they said.

“ On February 18 no less than our program coordinator, Maricel Salem was interrogated by a certain Sgt. Jake Geron and Pfc Cabawbaw in the sub-village center of Datalnay for a full three hours. The military tried to extract information from her, interrogating her on the identities of the staff, the structure of the program and the institution, the source of funding, etc,” they said.

According to the staff of Clans, the military also tried to pin down Salem into admitting that their organization is anti-government. The soldier reportedly cited the center’s tarpaulin hung in front of the building wherein the center’s five-point agenda was printed. Clans has declared that it 1) supports the struggle for ancestral land; 2) calls for the protection of the environment; 3) stands against large-scale mining; 4) campaigns for access to basic social services; and 5) is against anti-development aggression.

“Your school is against the government and we will not think twice about killing anyone who is against the government,” the soldiers reportedly threatened Salem. The soldiers issued the threat while in the presence of Datalnay residents and the staff who bravely tried not to show that they were scared.

In the meantime, the military has also reportedly tried to create a rift between Clans and the community.

“They are insinuating that we pocketed the funds of the micro hydro project because it still isn’t finished,” the staff said.

The Clans staffers said the threats and other acts of harassment by the military are becoming too much for them and their young Blaan literacy teachers and staff. They said all their hard work and serious efforts to educate Lumad children in the very remote area are being destroyed demolished by the military.

“We want to finish the school year with the children and hold graduation!”, Clans teachers said in tears.

In the meantime, the Clans staff said they have tried their best to secure support from the local government by sending letters and seeking audience with the barangay council and barangay captain of Upper Suyan and even with the local government of Malapatan and of the province of Sarangani.

“But we still have to see any assistance or support from them,” they lamented.

According to reports, more troops arrived on March 16, 2011 in Dlumay and in other sub-villages of Upper Suyan. Residents have been reportedly complaining that the military have become more arrogant and vicious, interrogating community leaders for hours on end, terrorizing everyone.

“Given the situation, we had no choice but to temporarily move out of the area. School is closed and the micro hydro project is at a standstill. We do not know how long will the military stay in the area, or if they will be the ones to guard the mining sites of San Miguel Corporation, which is where our school and project areas are currently located,” said that the Clans staff.

Calling Congressman Manny Pacquiao

Katribu Party-list and Clans is seeking the support of human rights organizations and all individuals who are against military abuses to help Clans in their campaign to stop the military from harassing the school, the students and the rest of the community residents.

”We cannot afford to just sit down and swallow all the atrocities piled on us with nary a word of indignation or protest. We cannot and will not leave the Lumad children whom we have learned to love like they were our own. We cannot turn our backs on the community who have nurtured us for so long,” they said.

Clans asked the public to write letters supporting the center against military abuses and send them to President Benigno Aquino III, the Department of Education, the Commission on Human Rights, Rep. Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao of Sarangani Province; local officials of Sarangani Province; and Mayor Alfonso Singcoy of the municipality of Malapatan.

“We want to resume operations of our literacy school, and bring back our teachers and pupils by driving away the military from our communities. There is a need to expose the real situation in Dlumay and its surrounding Lumad communities and in many other parts of Sarangani and Mindanao. The public must be told about the military atrocities and human rights violations happening here. The more people know the truth, the faster and wider our support,” said the staff of Clans.

With Katribu-Party-list and other human rights organizations, Clans has established Task Force Help our Children, Save our School ( Tnabeng e Dad Nga Mi, Tnamang e Skul Mi), and said that they are scheduling a fact finding and documentation mission to Upper Suyan.

Connected to Mining

In a related development, Katribu party-list has condemned the recent killing of a tribesman and accused government forces of routinely attacking tribal people.

“As mountain dwellers, indigenous people hunt and gather food in forests. We have been mistaken for armed rebels often. Our members have fallen victim to military abuses, said Beverly Longid, a member of the Bontok-Kankana-ey tribe and president of the Katribu Party.

“It is not right government forces keep committing mistakes in so-called anti-rebel pushes and at the expense of indigenous peoples.”

She cited an attack on Aggay tribesmen which killed one man and injured his six companions in February. The Aggay is an indigenous tribe in the Cagayan Valley in the northernmost tip of Luzon Island.

Longid said the seven men were on their way to a village to gather bamboo shoots and rattan on February 9 when they were shot at. Local residents believe government forces were behind the attack.

“By merely suspecting that Aggays are members of the NPA, government troops already felt justified in attacking innocent civilians,” Longid said.

She said her group has documented several deaths in attacks since President Aquino took office.

“The government’s anti-insurgency drive does not distinguish between civilians and rebels. We are also convinced that the deployment of soldiers on tribal land is linked to the presence of nearby mining operations,” she said.

Katribu actively campaigns for an end to mining operations on tribal land.#