Breaking News: Explosion in Digos City Bus Injures 17 Passengers
DAVAO CITY ? A bomb exploded shortly before lunch on Wednesday inside a passenger bus in Digos City, south of this city, injuring 17 people, authorities said. The bombing of…
In Makilala, Unsolved Deaths Haunt Villagers
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.
ComVal Farmers Decry Harassment, Burning of Houses
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 28th 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)
Open Season Again for Vigilantes?
DAVAO CITY -- The deaths of two persons in two days have brought back fears of the dreaded vigilante group Davao Death Squad. A man newly released from prison was…
Alamara Disbandment Sought to End Terror in Paquibato
Paquibato leaders decry continued harassment of residents despite military?s assurance
By Cheryll D. Fiel
davaotoday.com
DAVAO CITY ? The disbandment of paramilitary units and the withdrawal of the firearms issued to them by the Philippine Army are some of the recommendations put forward in a City Council hearing last week that looked into the atrocities allegedly perpetrated by the dreaded Alamara in Paquibato District, this city.
An 8 p.m. curfew in the whole of Paquibato was also suggested to the military to distinguish residents from the bandits who are said to be terrorizing residents in the hinterland area.
These suggestions came up during the investigation launched this week by the City Council committees on civil, political and human rights, and peace and public safety.
The investigation was prompted by the massive evacuation in recent weeks of Paquibato residents, which were in turn triggered by several unsolved murders in the area and the harassments allegedly by the Alamara, a group of armed Lumads allegedly created and controlled by the military to assist in its counter-insurgency operations in Paquibato.