Lumad leader Kerlan Fanagel is surprised to see his picture on a poster of the wanted list of Communist rebels displayed in public areas in Compostela town, Compostela Valley Province. Fanagel figured in the fight against the militarization of Lumad communities in Compostela. His Lumad group Pasaka points to the 28th IB of the Philippine Army as the people behind those posters, an accusation that the Philippine Army denies. (davaotoday.com photo by Jonald Mahinay)
Dennis Cuesta used to anchor the hard hitting primetime radio program “Straight to the Point” over DXMD – General Santos. Apart from tackling corruption on air, he also heard out complaints from residents. Among the latest issues he tackled were complaints of maltreatment against a car company, where he was asked to testify for the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG).
Cuesta fought for his life at the intensive care unit of the St. Elizabeth Hospital in General Santos City for almost five days after he was shot at around 4:30 p.m. near the Gaisano mall of General Santos city on Monday.
On that early morning of May 15 this year, Celso Pojas, 45, was sipping a cup of coffee inside the Kilusang Magbubukid sa Pilipinas (KMP) office in Bugac, Maa when he got up, told a colleague he had to buy few cigarette sticks and went outside.
Nobody had an inkling it was to be their last time to talk to him.
As the secretary- general of Farmers’s Association of Davao City (FADC), Pojas was preparing to go to Compostela town as part of the support groups to attend to hundreds of Lumads, who were fleeing their homes in Monkayo and Compostela because of military operations there.
Somewhere in Bankerohan, in a compound still shady with trees, three-week-old Vermon Autan sleeps soundly on a mat in the bottom bunk of the dormitory-type room that he shares with his parents and four other siblings. The place is not his home.
Concerned organizations and individuals form an alliance called Exodus for Justice and Peace to call for a stop of the militarization in the countryside and for the return of hundreds of Lumads displaced from their communities. The alliance also seeks justice for the death of tribal chieftain Dominador Diarog, peasant leader Celso Pojas and other victims of human rights violations. Photo shows Exodus’s members signing a statement of unity calling attention to the daily needs of victims, including health and medical services, psychosocial therapy sessions for women and children, legal services, moral support, among others. (davaotoday.com photo by Jonald Mahinay)
