Military

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.

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2 More Paquibato Residents Killed as Bandits Continue Rampage

By Cheryll D. Fiel
davaotoday.com

DAVAO CITY — Two more residents in Paquibato were killed last week, the latest in the spate of killings in the hinterland district allegedly perpetrated by a bandit group that has ties to the military.

The victims, who came from different areas in Malabog, a village in Paquibato, had been stabbed; one of them, a 25-year-old man identified only as Luciano, was slashed in the neck. The other victim, Reynaldo Ca?ete, 35, also lost his carabao to the killers.

Generoso Baon, an official of Malabog, told the GMA-7 news program Testigo that the bandits had been running amok after Mayor Rodrigo Duterte announced a bounty for their capture.

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Zones of War and Peace Eyed in Troubled Paquibato

Councilor Dureza wants to look deeper into reports that non-Lumads are being driven out of Paquibato so Lumads can sell their CADCs to business interests

By Cheryll Fiel
davaotoday.com

DAVAO CITY (March 7, 2006) — A peace zone where civilians can go about their ways and a war zone where parties to the conflict in the area can wage their battle.

These are the things that Councilor Jimmy Dureza, chairman of the City Council’s Committee on Peace and Public Safety, wanted to put in place after he was ?deeply bothered? by the escalating trouble in Paquibato District, a flashpoint for the military and the communist New People?s Army.

Dureza told davaotoday.com that he was still finalizing details of the proposals, which he said was urgent considering that Paquibato residents have left their homes and evacuated, particularly in barangays Mapula, Lumiad and Pa?alom, because of the incessant conflict in the hinterland district.

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Reds Exonerate, Release Cafgu Member

Captive says he was forced to become Cafgu member; TFD?s del Rosario calls NPA move ?propaganda?

From left: Councilor Leo Avila, Ka Parago, Rodolfo Adang and Councilor Jimmy Dureza during the turnover Adang on Wednesday. (DAVAOTODAY.COM PHOTO)

By Cheryll D. Fiel
davaotoday.com

DAVAO CITY (March 10, 2006) — “We have no basis to punish him with death.?

These were the words of New People’s Army leader Ka Parago in explaining the release last Wednesday afternoon of Rodolfo Adang, a Lumad member of a paramilitary group who was captured by the Communists in January.

Adang was released to Councilor Jimmy Dureza, who heads the City Council?s Committee on Peace and Public Safety, and Councilor Leo Avila III, who said Parago himself had requested him to be with the group that received Adang from the rebels.

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