Peace of the Dead

Peace of the Dead

(Second of Two Parts)

If it is peace the 9^th Infantry Division aims to achieve in Oplan Bayanihan, then it has certainly succeeded in doing so, if the peace it wants is the deadening of villages and the quelling of people’s aspirations.

For indeed, in over two years of the AFP’s campaign, it has not only attacked the people through brute force. It has also pursued to deflect the minds of villagers away from the roots of poverty and conflict, and has strived to distort the people’s thinking towards Oplan Bayanihan’s incredible logic.

Oplan Bayanihan absurdly believes that people are poor only because they believe that they are poor.  Their hardship is only caused by “perceptions of relative deprivation”, and is therefore no reason to protest or take up arms. Oplan Bayanihan clearly insults the people’s judgement in dispelling concrete socio-economic and socio-political concerns such as landlessness, unemployment, and injustice as motivations for dissent and armed resistance. Nonetheless, counter-insurgency fanatics aim to simply change such “perceptions of relative deprivation” through “winning the hearts and minds” of a target community.

Psywar: Altering “Perceptions”

It is in this twisted reasoning that Peace and Development Teams (PDTs) carry out their other tasks. Apart from being initiators of brutality, another focal mission of PDTs is the bombardment of diversionary schemes and even outright lies in an attempt to clear the people’s minds of the root causes of their hardships and just means of attaining progress. 

In PDT-infested villages, it is commonplace for soldiers to initiate merry-making activities such as basketball tournaments, village dances and drinking sessions as though these revelries could mask the despondency of hunger that befall peasant homes. Soldiers go around with their paintbrushes beautifying waiting sheds and barangay halls, participating in token tree-planting activities, as if colors could enhance the centuries-old crudeness of production relations in the farms. Soldiers would invite residents in a “boodle-fight” meal, and transfer meager amounts of cellphone loads to students, as though these one-time gestures could provide education for the youth. Truly, the deception of Oplan Bayanihan is as plain as a rabid dog putting on a clown’s face. 

Starker forms of psywar are likewise employed. During interrogations, victims are coerced into betraying their neighbors, with PDT operators sowing intrigues in order to ruin the harmonious relationships among villagers. Those who are subjected to questioning are also photographed while being forced to hold rifles, and are made to sign blank sheets of papers. These papers would later turn out to be either waivers of human rights violations, or signed surrender documents. It is noteworthy to add that military officials make a living out of misrepresenting civilians as New People’s Army (NPA) rebel returnees. Government funds supposedly allocated for such are easily pocketed by officers, with scores of peasants from each PDT-infested village being paraded as “former NPA rebels”.

Lastly, Oplan Bayanihan implements murder as the darkest of methods in instilling in the minds of the people to cast off any thought of dissent. As in the deaths of Eli Oguis, Romero Octavo, and Dalmacio dela Punta, their killers intend to ram the grim message head-on. Also, a familiar threat that has apparently become a standard operational procedure for PDT operations resonates in village round ups across the region: “Kapag inabutan namin ang mga NPA sa bahay ninyo, idadamay namin kayo!” (If we chance upon the NPA in your homes, you will not be spared!)
 

And alas, such wickedness has resulted in the massacre of the Mancera family in Labo town in February of 2012, when indeed, a platoon of the 49^th IB under First Lieutenant Alfie Lee killed two schoolboys and their father, and left their sister severely wounded. Such was also the fate of the Lotino family in Daraga town in Albay. Accused of being NPA supporters, village councilman Wenifredo Lotino was killed together with his wife and a nephew, and the Lotinos’ daughter suffering serious gunshot wounds. In Libmanan town in Camarines Sur, likewise suspected of supporting the NPA, three members of the Bico family, along with their employee, were killed by masked soldiers. Two other witnesses were also killed. 

Completing the policy of murder would be the posse of AFP propagandists scurrying towards media organizations to peddle their lies. Oplan Bayanihan being a barrage of brutality and grand psywar, military spokespersons would instinctively disown the crimes and point to the NPA. Common too are assertions that the civilian victims are NPA rebels, or that they were caught in crossfires. Still frequently driveled is to pass off the murders as common crimes, obscuring the methodization of these state murders.

But deceit is an embarrassment shoved in the AFP’s face. Testimonies and evidences belie the falsehoods that accompany each killing, attesting even more to the inclusion of murders in Oplan Bayanihan’s menu. In the extra-judicial killing of Bayan Muna member Rodel Estrellado on February 25, 2011, military reports of his death were already brandished in the media three hours earlier than his abduction which was witnessed by the public.  In Cabaloaon councilman Ely Oguis’ case,  an entanglement of lies caught military spokespersons confused as to which claim to sustain. One military unit claimed that Oguis was killed in an encounter. Another said that he was killed by the NPA for not paying taxes. Still another declared that he was an NPA tax collector killed by his comrades for not remitting his collections. Ely Oguis was in fact last seen in the company of soldiers before his death, and neighbors disprove the military’s claim of a supposed encounter between government forces and NPA rebels. In Bulan town in Sorsogon province, no less than Cesar Habla’s family asserts that the poor farmer was killed in their presence while tending to their copra production, contrary to the 8^th Scout Ranger Company’s media announcement that Habla died in an encounter with rebels.

What peace indeed. What tranquility these spell for a state that tolerates no tinge of dissent. Surely, landlords in government need no longer worry about militant peasant organizations legitimately demanding lands and agricultural advancement. Capitalist lawmakers need no longer worry about militant organizations protesting unemployment and loss of livelihoods. The state has at its disposal the ferocity and duplicity of Oplan Bayanihan, thanks to the 9^th Infantry Division, to subdue a discontented people.

A peace based on justice

But decades of struggle against repressive regimes in succession have sharpened the critical minds of the people and have toughened their resolve. Experience has equipped the masses to determine the anti-people natures of one counter-insurgency campaign after another. And this is Oplan Bayanihan’s fundamental weakness – it fails to win the support of the people because it does not solve age-old problems of landlessness, grinding poverty, and injustice.

More importantly, Oplan Bayanihan is faced with a resolute fight. Early on into the PDTs’ onslaught, the people of Albay staged a series of wide protests condemning Oplan Bayanihan and demanding the pull-out of the PDTs. A significant aspect of these protests, aside from being sustained, is the gathering of collective support from various parts of the region. The people’s will to carry on with their anti-militarization campaign warms up even more as they are joined by fellow peasants across the region. These supporters may be communities also suffering from the ills of Oplan Bayanihan, or those in solidarity with the struggles of their class.

The force of a people drawn together paid off when the series of protests resulted in the Albay Provincial Board issuing a resolution requiring the PDTs to vacate public establishments. Also, the Regional Office of the Commission on Human Rights was urged to conduct an investigation which led to calling for an end to the grave human rights violations being committed by the 2^nd IB. 

Camarines Norte’s 12 villages also enjoyed the support from different sectors across Bicol when a regional Fact Finding Mission was conducted in May 2012 to further expose the atrocities committed by the 31^st IB. Also in October of 2012, a regional mobilization marched along the streets of the province’ capital to demand from the government the punishment and pull-out of the 31^st IB from the villages.

Much is still to be done, as even if the 2^nd IB has been compelled to build their own barracks, the soldiers continue to return to the public facilities in blatant disregard of lawful decisions. Meanwhile, the 31^st IB continues to occupy 13 barrios in Labo. Much is still to be done, as the rest of Bicol’s countrysides continue to swell with PDTs.

Oplan Bayanihan is due to end in 2016. But this early, it’s demise has already been declared by the people. But such optimism is assured not only by Oplan Bayanihan’s inherent flaws, but most of all, by the people’s resolve to further strengthen their ranks and sustain the fight against this deadly counter-insurgency campaign alongside continuing struggles for land, livelihood, and justice. ###

Peace of the Dead

(First of Two Parts)

A graveyard’s peace drapes the countrysides of Bicol. The muteness of peasant huts, the hush of wary gestures in the farms, the tautness of villagers’ faces – all these bespeak the dread that has crept across the barrios of the region. This silence is the dark peace of Oplan Bayanihan.

Now entering its third year, the government’s “internal peace and security plan” (a moderation for “counter-insurgency”), patterned after the US Counterinsurgency Guide of 2009, has for its ultimate objective the reduction of the “capabilities of internal armed threats…to a level that they can no longer threaten the stability of the state and civil authorities can ensure the safety and well-being of the Filipino people.” In the Bicol region, with the government having only one formidable armed opponent, Oplan Bayanihan means to “render the NPA irrelevant.” The Philippine Army’s 9th Infantry Division initiates the campaign in the region.

For the Bicolano masses however, Oplan Bayanihan only means thus: Terror and Deceit,  a two-pronged spear of brutality and psywar being thrust at the people leading to further impoverishment in a land already belonging to the country’s four poorest regions.


Terror and Deceit: A Predicament in Pairs
In the province of Albay, Oplan Bayanihan’s misleading “Peace and Development” operations have for more than two years been ravaging the interiors of Guinobatan town, and has turned a cluster of villages in the second district into a seemingly enormous military complex with large deployment of Philippine Army troops and CAFGU paramilitaries. These state forces, sustained by public money, essentially come to be private security forces for companies undertaking the construction of an international airport, and also of major eco-tourism and residential projects in the area.

In Camarines Norte, the 49th Infantry Battalion’s “Peace and Development Teams” (PDTs) disrupt the once tranquil lives of the people of Labo town’s 13 barrios – Domagmang, Malaya, Malibago, Malatap, Anameam, Macogon, Bagong Silang II, Pag-asa, Maligaya, Calabasa, Excivan, Daguit, and Maot.

Likewise, 12 villages in the town of Bato in Camarines Sur likewise suffer the afflictions of military presence. The villages of Payak, Pagatpatan, Sooc, Cotmon, Cristo Rey, Coguit, Mangga, Lubong, Salvacion, Cawacagan, Del Rosario, and Caricot have also been rounded up by the Philippine Army’s 42nd IB for Oplan Bayanihan’s storm of repression.

Villages in the towns of San Miguel, San Andres, and Virac in Catanduanes province share the same fate, as well as those in the boundaries of Bulusan and Barcelona towns in the province of Sorsogon, who have soldiers from the 31st IB occupying their barangays since September of 2012.

Needless to say, the AFP’s dismal human rights record makes its prolonged presence troubling on the part of villagers. A mere day of government soldiers raking through the countryside already spells fear and anxiety on the farmers to go to their lands, they being accosted with brusque, physical harm, and assaults to their livelihoods such as the stealing of crops and fowls from unguarded farms - thus equating military operations to loss of livelihoods.

But to simply paint a picture of menacing military patrols in the hinterlands of rural villages is to downplay the intent of Oplan Bayanihan’s focused terror. Despite the 9th ID’s platitudes on “peace and development” and “respect for human rights”, the opposite is what has been taking place. Oplan Bayanihan’s so-called “people-centered approach” is designed to impress upon the peasants the harsh consequences of advocating or supporting just struggles for land, livelihood, and other democratic rights and interests.  PDTs – on the average a squad of soldiers trained in combat, intelligence, and psywar – direct their brunt primarily on peasants and members of progressive organizations in the barrios whom they suspect to be supporters of the New People’s Army (NPA).

Various forms of human rights violations assail the victims of PDTs. From intimidation to physical harm, from illegal detention to unlawful interrogation, from torture to murder – soldiers of the 9th ID have not run out of methods in repressing Bicolano masses. In the villages of Guinobatan alone, no less than 80 individuals fell prey to the 2nd IB's PDTs just on its first month in July to August of 2011.

Emelio Odeña, a village watchman of Barangay Balite, had a knife shoved at him by a Sgt. Mariano. Novo Otico of Barangay Pood was hit in the head and legs while under interrogation. Fellow villager Oscar Pardines was hit with a rifle’s butt and was knocked in the stomach by his interrogators led by a Corporal Carpio. Village officials of Bololo and Cabaloaon were harassed into withdrawing their opposition to the PDTs’ presence, and were forced to provide materials and construct dwellings for soldiers. Rodrigo Bosquellos, also of Barangay Balite, was interrogated and illegally detained for seven hours, during which he was also denied any legal counsel and even food. Eli Oguis, a village councilman of Cabaloaon, whom the 2nd IB put under severe interrogation in August 2011, was later found headless in the muds. The list of savagery displayed by the 2nd IB in Albay goes on but is also matched elsewhere in the region where Oplan Bayanihan’s PDTs operate.

And as if all these were not terroristic enough, the Philippine Army’s 9th ID has even placed itself in the people’s midst – stockpiling weapons and occupying public structures as their barracks, and subjugating the people in their own locales of comfort and fellowships. AFP Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Emmanuel Bautista, Oplan Bayanihan’s chief architect, must have perfected in his military experience the thrashing of a people’s dignity that he and his men are now committing human rights violations – the intimidations and tortures, the unlawful detentions and cruelties – the crushing of a people’s spirits – inside barangay halls, daycare centers, chapels, and other public establishments.

All of these makes one thing very clear: that the government’s armed forces have the least respect for International Humanitarian Law which puts a premium on the protection and security of civilians in times of armed conflict; that certainly, it is not the poor and marginalized people in the region or elsewhere that they have come for to serve and protect.

With the 9th Infantry Division adept in all the functions of a repressive tool, Bicol’s countrysides would most likely illustrate the demise of democratic aspirations, with 9th ID troops posturing as butchers, but with once stifled Bicolano masses steadily breaking away from their fetters. #

Two Civilians Murdered by Lt Col Andrew Costelo’s 2nd IB

LEGAZPI CITY_

Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Costelo’s minions are on a killing rampage. Less than two weeks into his command, and in a span of just two days, Costelo’s 2^nd Infantry Battalion has already murdered two civilians. After mauling and shooting to death a farmer in Pio Duran town on February 11, soldiers of the 2^nd IB in Brgy Tobgon, Oas matched the crime with another civilian murder in the person of Dalmacio dela Punta.

News reports as well as communications from people’s organizations in the area confirmed that a firefight ensued between government troopers and alleged NPA rebels on February 12, with the 2^nd IB suffering casualties.  The victim’s family and other witnesses said that after the firefight, the soldiers arrested dela Punta at a nearby sityo, mauled and dragged him from his house, and peppered him with bullets on the way to the barrio center. He was then declared a New People’s Army rebel killed in the encounter.

The new 2^nd IB commander is bloating with lies in his attempt to cover up his soldiers’ crimes - for  the plain truth that dela Punta is a civilian. He was killed in disgust of 2^nd IB’s losses in the said encounter.  

It is indignant that such is Costelo’s civil-military operations after all – to systematically kill civilians in order to keep the populace terrorized and subdued, and fabricate lies to hide the atrocity.  And such is the evil of Oplan Bayanihan. The terror and impunity of the failed Oplan Bantay Laya escalates in this next counter-insurgency campaign, along with crooked psywar designs to attempt to blind the people of the AFP’s murderous nature.

Karapatan vows to exact justice for the loathsome murder of Dalmacio dela Punta. A Truth Mission is set to be organized to further expose the brutality carried out by Costelo's men. The 2nd IB's commander can expect no less than a murder case slapped against him and his soldiers.

Powerless as they are, poor peasants can only seek strength from fellow oppressed and exploited people. We call on the just and well-meaning people of Albay to aid in condemning Lt. Col. Andrew Costelo’s unsparing attack against civilians, and the impunity that envelops his counter-insurgency campaign.#

2nd IB-Philippine Army Frantically Shooting Civilians in Albay

LEGAZPI CITY_Romero Octavo is a former NPA rebel who has decided to lay down his arms and pursue civilian life. From the time Romero settled as a civilian resident of Brgy Rawis in neighboring Jovellar town, he has since survived the daily struggles ordinary peasants confront.  As was his nature, he would assist fellow villagers in their daily endeavors, his efforts be in form of words or direct participation in farm labor. Apart from tending to his land, he joined gatherings that fight for the people’s rights, though this time on the legal front.

But Lt. Col. Andrew Costelo and his 2nd IB death squad denied Romero the chance of returning to civilian life. Costelo’s rabid adherence to AFP Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Emmanuel Bautista's Oplan Bayanihan, being 901st Brigade’s former civil-military operations (CMO) chief, exposes the AFP’s vicious counter-insurgency campaign as being ultimately deadly to civilians. On February 11, Romero Octavo was never able to enjoy the small joys of a village dance, as he was mauled and shot to death by ten fully armed masked men believed to be Costelo’s soldiers. After mercillesly killing Romero Octavo, the murderers got on their motorcyles, in full death-squad fashion, and retreated to the direction of an army camp at nearby Brgy Halabang Puro.

Costelo’s lies  as a CMO implementer secretes from his pores  while he gloats on Oplan Bayanihan’s glorification as supposed peace and development for the people. With Octavo’s killing, Costelo seems to be saying that former NPA rebels have might as well remained hiding in the mountains, because apparently civilians are the primary targets of Oplan Bayanihan. Costelo’s perceptible reasoning in having Octavo killed is that civilians who are vocal in legally fighting for their rights might as well take up arms if only to defend themselves, because apparently Oplan Bayanihan virulently snaps on any sign of dissidence. This seems to be the logic Costelo wants to convey to the people of Albay.

With Lt. Col. Andrew Costelo and his 2nd IB frantically shooting civilians as if these were their armed opponents, peace based on justice would obviously be far-fetched in this province.

People’s leader survives murder attempt by suspected soldiers

Terror strikes most callously in its victims’ joyous moments.

A wedding anniversary is not at all one occasion for death squads to be considerate. On the night of December 5 in San Pablo, Del Gallego, Camarines Sur, as Barangay Captain Angel Mendoza and his wife Helen prepare their repose from a day’s celebration of their 25^th wedding anniversary, a motorcycle stopped outside the Mendozas’ house and a man’s voice called out Kapitan Angel’s name. Thinking that the man was a belated well-wisher, the barangay captain went out to check his visitor. He was instead met by gunshots.

Badly wounded were Kapitan Angel and his wife Helen. The couple’s niece Shirly Magpantay and husband Norman, who happened to be visiting for the occasion, were also hit. According to a report prepared by the Camarines Sur Ecumenical Movement for Justice and Peace, the bullet that hit Angel on his right arm pierced through his armpit, while Helen suffered a bullet each on her leg and arm, crushing her elbow. The victims were rushed to the Bicol Medical Center in Naga City for treatment.

Neighbors of the Mendozas confirmed having heard the motorcycle speed away at around 11 PM, following the gunshots. They found eight spent bullet casings for a .45 caliber pistol.

While news reports relate that the police are still investigating the incident and have yet to point to suspects, the people of San Pablo have no puzzles on the perpetrators and their motives in attempting to murder their village chief, and in the end almost carrying out a massacre.

Barangay Captain Angel Mendoza is a well-liked fellow and leader. He was San Pablo’s barangay captain from 1984 to 1994, again from 1997 to 2002, and yet again from 2007 up to the present. The people of San Pablo can suggest nothing in Kapitan Angel’s character and performance that would stoke the ire of anyone. Except, they say, when Kapitan Angel stood up for his barrio constituents against the harassment of the 902^nd Infantry Brigade from 2007 to 2009.

The people of San Pablo and its neighboring barangays in Del Gallego have long been committed in advocating the fight for human rights. They have also gained victories in reducing land rent through legal mass struggles, and are active in joining rallies and mobilizations that advance the people’s interests. It was not unexpected of San Pablo and its neighboring barangays to be focused on by the past regime’s Oplan Bantay Laya. Apparently, the military believes that those who righteously fight for the people’s interests, or simply, those who join rallies, are enemies of the State.

From May 2007 until 2009, San Pablo and its neighboring barangays were occupied by the army’s Special Operations Teams. The soldiers started out with campaigning for congressional candidate Dato Arroyo(which caught the media’s eye), then conducting patrols and operations, in the process intimidating the people, most especially those whom the military suspects of being NPA supporters, or rally participants. A military camp would eventually be set up at neighboring Sta. Rita.

This was what Brgy. Captain Angel Mendoza faced up to when in 2007, he chastised soldiers of the 902^nd IBde on their conduct and warned them that no less than the Barangay Council will file charges against any violation of San Pablo people’s rights. Apart from being barangay captain, Mendoza was then BAYAN MUNA Municipal Coordinator for Del Gallego.

Regardless of his stature as a barangay leader, Kapitan Angel was still subjected to various forms of harassment and intimidation. On November 2007, he was made to grasp an M-16 rifle and was photographed against his will. He was also coerced into betraying his constituents and was told to identify those who supposedly are NPA supporters, to which Kapitan Angel strongly stood up against. Then on 2009, together with his cousin and fellow barangay leader Diego de Torres, Kapitan Angel was once again subjected to interrogation by the soldiers and was pressed to “clear” their names of being NPA supporters and active rally participants.

Through the years of Oplan Bantay Laya’s torments, Brgy. Captain Angel Mendoza has not faltered in protecting his constituents and has remained devoted in his principles of fighting for what is just, even as the government’s counter-insurgency campaign has assumed another name in Oplan Bayanihan. The counter-insurgency fanatics may well be maddened by Kapitan Angel’s stance. This may be as infuriating for the 902^nd IBde to have him killed.

Shortly after the interrogation in 2009, San Pablo lost one of their leaders when Diego de Torres was extra-judicially murdered allegedly by elements of the 902^nd IBde. With the recent events threatening to once again put the barrio in martial plague, the people of San Pablo can only conclude that Oplan Bantay Laya’s Palparan model of killing activists is still being employed under Oplan Bayanihan.  But ultimately, as they are fortunate to still having their barangay captain to fight with them, so are the people of San Pablo most sharpened by collective experience forged by years of Kapitan Angel’s leadership.

Kagawad ng barangay sa Bikol pinaslang ng militar?

Repost from http://pinoyweekly.org

Kagawad ng barangay sa Bikol pinaslang ng militar?

by Macky Macaspac

Mga labi ni Ely Oguis. (Kontribusyon)

Pinabulaanan ng Karapatan ang mga magkakaibang pahayag ng militar hinggil sa pagpatay kay Ely Oguis, isang kagawad ng Barangay Cabaloan sa Guinobatan, Albay.

Ayon sa grupo, inililigaw ng militar ang katotohanan sa brutal na pagpatay sa biktima na natagpuang may mga tama ng bala sa dibdib at pinugutan pa ng ulo noong Nobyembre 12.

Sa magkakaibang pahayag ng militar sa midya, unang sinabi nilang nagkaroon ng engkuwentro ang mga kasundaluhan at rebeldeng New People’s Army (NPA) kung saan napatay si Oguis. Pero sa pangalawang pahayag, sinabi nilang isa umanong tagakolekta ng buwis para sa NPA ang biktima at pinatay siya at isang maliit na may-ari ng plantasyon ng niyog ng mga kasamahan niya.

Sa sariling imbestigasyon ng Karapatan, napag-alaman sa mga residente ng lugar na noong Nobyembre 11, pumasok pa sa barangay hall ang biktima para gampanan ang kanyang tungkulin. Nanatili siya mula alas-8 ng umaga hanggang alas-4 ng hapon.

Dahil nakagawian na umano niyang makihalubilo sa mga residente, hindi agad umuwi si Oguis matapos ang kanyang duty sa barangay hall. Bagkus, ayon sa mga nakasaksi, nakipag-inuman daw ang biktima kay Juanito Sumaupan, na kapwa kagawad, at Rodrigo Mirabite na kapitbahay niya.

Makalipas ang ilang saglit, sumama sa kanilang inuman ang dalawang sundalo na sina Cpl. Gilbert Ramos, kumander ng kampo ng 2nd Infantry Batallion ng Philippine Army, at isang nakilalala lamang bilang Patoy.
Batay sa kuwento ni Sumaupan, matapos makaubos ng ilang bote ng beer, lumipat umano sila sa tindahang pag-aari ni Marly na anak ng biktima. Umalis umano ang mga sundalo bandang alas-10 ng gabi at sumunod naman si Oguis makalipas ang ilang minuto.

Ayon pa sa Karapatan, nakarinig ng sunud-sunod na putok ang ilang residente bandang alas-11 ng gabi.
Dagdag pa grupo, ilang residente, kasama ang isang kagawad din ng barangay na si Minda Sumaupan, ang pauwi na galing sa pakikipaglamay bandang alas-1 ng madaling araw.

Pagdating nila sa isang purok ng barangay, nailawan nila ang isang taong nakahandusay na inakala nilang lasing. Nang lapitan nila, nakita nilang taong pugot ang ulo. Ipinaabot kaagad ng grupo ang nakita sa kanilang barangay chairman na nagpasyang hintayin na magliwanag bago imbestigahan.
Sa ganap na alas-singko ng umaga, siniyasat mga opisyal ng barangay ang bangkay at nakita ang ulo sa layong mahigit isang metro. Nakilalang itong labi ni Oguis at agad dinala sa isang punerarya para maawtopsiya matapos ipagbigay alam sa mga kamag-anak.

“Sa aming imbestiagsyon, wala namang nangyaring putukan sa detatchment kung saan iniulat ng mga sundalo na may nangyaring labanan. Ang narinig ng mga taga-barangay ay mga putok ng baril na hindi nga umabot ng isang minuto mula sa kinakitaan ng pugot na bangkay ni Kgd. Ely Oguis,” ani Vince Casilihan, tagapagsalita ng Karapatan-Bicol.

Sinabi rin ni Casilihan na mas malakas ang kanilang hinala na mga militar ang pumaslang kay Oguis.
Ilang beses umanong pinatawag ng mga militar si Oguis dahil pinaparatangan siya ng mga militar na miyembro ng NPA.

“Noon ngang Agosto 21, 2011 humingi siya ng tulong sa Karapatan-Bikol dahil dito. Sa katunayan, may sinumpaang salaysay pa siyang pinirmahan,” sabi pa ni Casilihan. Pareho umano ang mga pahayag ng militar hinggil sa pagkamatay ni Oguis at ni Rodel Estrellado na dinukot at pinatay noong  Pebrero 25, 2011.
“Gumawa sila ng moro-morong engkuwentro para palabasing nadamay sa labanan ang biktima. Pero ang totoo, sila-sila lang naman ang nagpaputok,” sabi pa ni Casilihan.

Sinabi rin ng grupo na ang pagpatay ay bahagi ng Oplan Bayanihan.

“Ang karahasang militar ay pilit nilang itinatago sa pamamagitan ng Community Peace and Development Team (CPDT) na wala namang pagkakaiba sa tigmak-dugong special operations teams (SOT) ng Oplan Bantal Laya I & II ng rehimeng US-Arroyo,” paliwanag pa ni Casilihan.

Kasapi ng Albay People’s Organization (APO) si Oguis at aktibong lumalaban sa militarisasyon sa kanilang lugar at sa paglabag sa karapatang pantao sa Kabikulan.
Short URL: http://pinoyweekly.org/new/?p=21804

Albay councilman shot, beheaded by suspected soldiers

Repost from bulatlat.com

Published on November 16, 2012

By INA ALLECO R. SILVERIO and RONALYN V. OLEA
Bulatlat.com

One military unit claimed that councilman Ely M. Oguis, 60, was killed in an encounter between soldiers and NPA guerrillas; another military spokesman said he was a NPA tax collector who was killed by his comrades for not remitting his collections; while another said he was killed by the NPA for not paying taxes. But one thing is for sure, he was last seen drinking with a fellow councilman and two soldiers the night before he was killed.
MANILA — A village councilman in Guinobatan, Albay province was found beheaded, November 12. According to reports from the Karapatan chapter in Bicol, the councilman, 60-year-old Ely M. Oguis, was accused of being a tax collector of the New People’s Army (NPA) by the Philippine Army and was shot and decapitated.

Oguis, 60, was a member of the Albay People’s Organization.
Early on the morning of November 11, Oguis left his house to report for duty as village councilor at Cabaloaon village. He stayed at the village from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., but did not immediately go home afterwards. Witnesses said that Oguis, as his practice, made social calls at the homes of various neighbors and other village residents after work.

Later that evening, he met with fellow village councilor Juanito Sumaupan, and neighbor Rodrigo Mirabite for a drink. Eventually, they were joined by the detachment commander of the 2nd Infantry Battalion Cpl. Gilbert Ramos and another soldier known only as “Patoy.”

Sumaupan said they drank a few bottles of beer before they moved to another store, this time owned by the victim’s daughter, Marlyn. The two soldiers left past 10 p.m., and Oguis followed some 30 minutes after.

Based on reports gathered by Karapatan Bicol, at around 11p.m., some of the residents heard gunfire. Sumaupan went back to Marlyn’s house, who is also a neighbor, to ask if she knew if her father had arrived home safely. Marlyn, in turn, called a sibling living in their parents’ house. She was told that Oguis had not returned. Not suspecting anything, Sumaupan returned home.

At 1:00 a.m. the following morning, November 12, another village councilor Minda Sumaupan, with three others were returning home from a wake in another village. When they reached Palapbuton subvillage, Cabaloaon, the group’s flashlight shone upon a person lying along the road. At first, the group thought the person was asleep in a drunken stupor. They were shocked when, after coming closer to the person, they found the body with no head.

The body of Ely Oguis at the funeral parlor.(Photo courtesy of Karapatan-Bicol / bulatlat.com)

They immediately informed the village chief. Because of the darkness, the village captain decided to wait for daylight before investigating. At around 5 a.m., village officers examined the body. They found the decapitated head more than a meter away from the body, almost buried in mud, and identified it as Oguis. The ears had been hacked off.

The victim’s wife, Nila, and other family members were immediately informed. The body was taken to a funeral parlor in Guinobatan town proper for autopsy.
Initial information gathered by Karapatan-Bicol revealed that Oguis sustained five gunshot wounds in the chest causing severe damage to the lungs and heart. The decapitated head also bore signs of being hit with a hard object.

In the meantime, units of the Armed Forces of the Philippines have already released statements, each one in conflict with the others.

On Nov. 12, Major Narzan Obuyes, spokesman of the 2nd Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army, said that an encounter between the NPA and the military occurred at the military detachment in Cabaloaon village. Col. Ricardo Visaya, commanding officer of the 901st Brigade based in Daraga, Albay, said that Oguis was an NPA tax collector and may have been killed by the NPA as punishment for not remitting collections.

Another military spokesman, Maj. Angelo Guzman of the 9th Infantry Division said that Oguis was a small-scale coconut plantation owner and that he was killed by the NPA for not paying taxes.
The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) in Bicol, however, has already issued its own statement, saying that there was neither NPA presence in the village nor an encounter.
In a statement sent to Bulatlat.com, Vince Casilihan, spokesman of Karapatan-Bicol and among those who conducted an independent investigation of the incident, quoted the residents as saying that they never heard any firefight. The gunshots did not last for even a minute, Casilihan said.

“The military is lying to cover up for their heinous crime,” Casihilan said. “They are the only ones who have the motive to kill Oguis.”

The heavy deployment of soldiers in Guinobatan, Albay began in July 2011. The 2nd IBPA arrived in 11 villages, including Cabaloaon. The soldiers first used the village hall as their headquarters before forcing the residents to set up their detachment in the village center. It is still, however, right near the village hall.
Karapatan-Bicol has previously documented several incidents of the military issuing threats and harassing residents, among them Oguis.

On August 21, 2011, soldiers known only as Ontolan and Amolar invited Oguis to their detachment. In a sworn statement, a copy of which was sent to Bulatlat.com through email, the councilman said the two soldiers accused him of being a member of the NPA, and told him to leave the group. Oguis vehemently denied the accusations and asserted that he was only a village councilor.
In the same affidavit, Oguis related that sometime in August of the same year, the military ordered the residents to bring bamboo and other materials for their headquarters. Oguis said that out of fear, the residents obeyed and built the structure without any payment.

Karapatan-Bicol noted that the military also did the same to Bayan Muna member Rodel Estrellado.
On February 25, 2011, Estrellado was walking home from a local market in village 3, Malilipot, Albay, after buying food for his family. According to witnesses, at around 9 a.m., around four men who introduced themselves as members of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) accosted Estrellado and forced him inside a gray car with plate number MXN 902.

It was found out later that three hours before Estrellado’s abduction at 6 a.m., the spokesman of the 9th Infantry Division Maj. Harold Cabunoc issued a statement that an alleged member of the NPA named Elmer Estrollado was killed in an armed encounter in the village of Buluang, Bato, Camarines Sur.
Also on the same day at 1:25 p.m., a certain Major Danilo Ambe and 2nd Lt. Maribel Donilla based in Mabaludbalud, Tigaon, Camarines Sur filed a blotter report at the PNP Bato that they conducted a strike operation in Buluang, Bato that resulted in the death of one Elmer Estrellado.

Two days after Estrellado’s abduction, February 27, Estrellado’s family decided to go to a funeral parlor where they heard an “Elmer Estrellado” had been taken. They had previously looking for Rodel in various army camps, but the military denied having him in custody.

In the funeral parlor, the family found their loved one’s body under the name “Elmer Estrellado.”
Casihilan said the killing of Oguis is part of the implementation of the Aquino administration’s counterinsurgency program Oplan Bayanihan. “The state forces who present themselves as Community Peace and Development Team (CPDT) are no different from the bloody Special operations teams of Arroyo’s Oplan Bantal Laya I and II.