Human Rights

Remembering a Daughter

By GERMELINA A. LACORTE | Davao Today

?We were just too trusting,? says Rebelyn?s mother Evangeline Pitao.(davaotoday.com photo by Barry Ohaylan)

As cries for justice and a stop to extrajudicial killings carried off Rebelyn?s body to her final resting place, it struck Evangeline that she could no longer see her daughter?s face. She still recalls telling her four children with her to watch out and take care of themselves as the war between the government and the Communist New Peoples Army intensifies. ?Pag-amping mo pag ayo ha, kay basin manghilabot na sila,? she recalled telling Rio, 22; Rebelyn, 20; Renante, 18; and Redford, 16 before the gruesome incident happened. She was worried that top military men in the region who failed to capture her husband, the elusive Kumander Parago of the NPA?s Pulang Bagani Command 1, might get back at her children. ?Dili, Ma oy,? Rebelyn had replied. ?Di man ta apil, ana. Sila ra man na ang nag away. Civilians man ta. (We are not part of that war. It?s only between them and the government. We are civilians).? But she was wrong. The moment that Evangeline knew about her daughter?s abduction, she turned hysterical. ?Dili jud siya buhion, sa kasuko nila sa amahan (I had the feeling that they will not spare her life because they were so angry at her father),? she said. Read on

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Maza : The Philippines is a dangerous place for women

By CJ KUIZON, MARILOU AGUIRRE- TUBURAN AND GRACE UDDIN | Davao Today Maza said that Arroyo has made the Philippines the most dangerous place to live for women in all of Asia and even the world. Not one of these murders has been resolved to this day.Read on

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Body of Kumander Parago’s daughter found

By GRACE S. UDDIN | Davao Today

Rebelyn Pitao(contributed photo)

Her mother, Evangeline Pitao, blamed the Armed Forces of the Philippines for the killing. "If they're running after my husband, why do they have to take my daughter?" she asked, when she first learned about her daughter's abduction. She turned hysterical after learning of her daughter's death. Rebelyn was abducted on her way home at around 6:30 pm Wednesday while boarding a tricycle in Talomo. She has been teaching at the St. Peter's College. The village where her body was found was about 50 kilometers away from where she was abducted. Raffy Agres, a farmer, saw her body near the NIA irrigation system in Purok 5 in San Isidro village of Davao del Norte's Carmen town.Read on.

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