Grecil’s Parents File Raps Vs Soldiers; Holganza Doubts Girl Was Child Warrior
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Justice . Relatives, friends, neighbors and activists march in New Bataan on April 18 to demand justice for Grecil Buya. (davaotoday.com photo by Barry Ohaylan)
MANILA — The parents of Grecil Buya, the nine-year-old girl killed by the army during a firefight with communist rebels in New Bataan, Compostela Valley, on March 31, filed charges against the military before the Office of the Ombudsman.
Gregorio Galacio and Virginia Buya went to the ombudsman on Friday to file administrative charges against 2nd Lt. Francis John Gabawa and his men in a platoon belonging to the 67th IB who were responsible for Grecil’s death.
Army spokesman Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro, meanwhile, said the investigation into the killing is ongoing and that the soldiers involved are restricted to camp.
“The provision of the restriction is they cannot go out of the camp without permission. The purpose is to ensure that they will be available during the conduct of the investigation,” Bacarro said Friday.
Earlier this week, Brig. Gen. Carlos Holganza, the commanding officer of the 1001st Brigade to which Gabawa’s platoon belonged, announced that he was suspending the investigation the killing because Gregorio was not cooperating with the military. He maintains that Gregorio is a member of the NPA.
Holganza said he had no other choice but to suspend the probe because Gregorio was not cooperating with military investigators and has even gone on “forum shopping” in Metro Manila.
Gregorio joined a picket staged by the leftist women’s group Gabriela and the Salinlahi-Alliance for Children’s Concern in front of the military’s general headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo to protest Buya’s killing.
“I have to suspend the investigation because the father is not cooperating… There are some questions that I wanted to clarify with him,” said Holganza, adding that Gregorio has not signed the affidavit he earlier prepared.
“What he (Gregorio) is doing is he engaged himself in forum shopping in Manila instead of ironing things out here (in Compostela Valley)… The father has not been cooperating in the investigation,” the official said.
Among the questions Holganza wants to ask Gregorio was that why he allowed her daughter to take a bath when there are NPA rebels near their house. “When there are armed elements, you are going to ask your child to stay beside you,” he said.
“I want to know what really happened, why she was in the company of the armed elements,” said Holganza, adding that Buya was even seen by the operating soldiers holding an M16 rifle before the encounter.
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Transport of flu patient to DMC done under strict protocol
April 30th, 2007 at 10:37 am
Responsibility of Civilian Population, Immeasurable:
Civility is threatened when civilians fail to act against local lawlessnes. When whole community fails to act early on with the determination and steadfastness to drive out these elements, by showing outrage, that enough is enough, and that mindless killings and retaliations don’t belong here, there should be no surprise that lawlessness will take over. These elements strike on the human psyche by fear; it’s an enemy within that needs to be overcome. Even in modern times, there will always be rotten apples in the bunch. Lacking the moral compass, when these rotten apples are allowed to proliferate fear, chaos takes precedence. Let me tell you what is really wrong, the acts or even thoughts of taking someone’s life when that someone speaks hers or his own mind out loud. Such act of repression is archaic, very tribal, uneducated, mindless, immature, and worst, evil, to think that we live in a modern global society. Let them say what they will, but never, never hurt or kill someone. This act is also a very basic violation of human rights, and our own ignorance of morals, or lack thereof, helps fuel this kind of acts to perpetual retribution, that is, if we don’t act ourselves. And when it’s too late, and things go wrong, military action is morally justified. Civilians must then be willing to suffer the fangs of military actions around them to deal with these elements. It’s very, very unfortunate that an innocent child can become a casualty, my heart cries out to the families of the innocents caught in crossfire. Being in the military once, if I were the squad leader or platoon leader involved, I would loose sleep if I don’t take it upon myself to operate tirelessly, night and day, seeking the enemy, bringing them to justice, to help personally reconcile the fate of the innocents. Likewise, the military must accept the reality that civilians can’t trust them and will remain suspicious; they have the most difficult task to win the battle, but they also must win their (civilians) trust. Years of oppression and political killings perpetrated by the very same people sworn to uphold the law has etched a deep mistrust on the youths, who, if not already the outlaws, are now the same civilians the military must protect. The local civilians however, have more important battle, vigilance, better education for their youths, and fighting poverty. Parents, neighbors, family members, churches, and the military, must act together, and educate the youths to protect themselves from the snares of the outlaw life. Outlaws and would-be outlaws: pick-up your shovels, and pens, instead of guns and ammos to rebuild your own life, your family, your community, your country.