Author: DAVAO TODAY

Three armed men whose faces were covered with bonnets and shawls entered the house at around one in the morning. ?They awakened us by pointing their flashlights to our faces,? Gabi, an 18-year-old resident, said. The intruders wore what looked like military boots. ?They were searching for somebody,? she said. ?When they saw Jay, they dragged him outside the house.?

Members of the fact-finding team led by Karapatan on their way to the house of Salvador Dante Jr., a murder victim in Makilala, North Cotabato. (Contributed photo)

By Marilou Aguirre
davaotoday.com

MAKILALA, North Cotabato ? The sound of gunshots sent Marcelo Heruela looking for his friend Salvador Dante Jr., who had left his house minutes earlier.

?Some of my neighbors told me that the gunshots sounded like these came from near his house,? Heruela, a 37-year-old ?skylab? (passenger motorcycle) driver said.

Along with some neighbors, Heruela searched the road leading to Dante?s house. About 50 meters from the house, they saw Dante, slumped in the grass, dead.

The Feb. 3 killing of Dante, a 40-year-old peasant and ?skylab? driver from sitio (hamlet) Conception, barangay (village) Kisante, this town, remains a puzzle to both his family and neighbors.

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By BJ Absin
davaotoday.com

DAVAO CITY ? Farmers in Mabini town, Compostela Valley province, have accused the military of burning their houses and of harassing them afterward, allegedly for their failure to provide information on the communist New People?s Army.

Four farmers — Benjamin diola, Gabriel Ugapan, Dionesio Granada and Montano Anoda ? from sitio (hamlet) Darot, barangay (village) Libudon in Mabini town complained last week to the human-rights group Karapatan that elements of the 28^th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army razed their houses and belongings during military operations on March 9.

This is what remained of one of the houses burned down allegedly by elements of the military. (Contributed photo)

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