Liberation Movements

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.?

contributed photo
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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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.

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

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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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