Not Yet Normal
While the evacuees have already returned to the village, the situation has not yet normalized. Many workers of a nearby banana plantation and packing plant did not report to work immediately, out of fear.
One of them is Josephine Ayko, who works as a packer at the nearby Stanfilco banana plantation packing plant. She said she still feels very tired and jittery and she is having hard time sleeping.
Military Camp. Soldiers encamped near the barangay hall after the bombings. (davaotoday.com photo by Barry Ohaylan)
Residents also remain anxious about their security. Worsening the fear is another fear, that they might be suspected as supporters of the NPA. “We all know that this has been declared a red area, which makes it so risky for us now that the village is crawling with soldiers,” Vergara said.
“We do not mind if the military are here, provided that they just stay away from the civilians,” he added, referring to the heavy deployment of troops in their village following the attacks.
Late that same week, some 50 soldiers, according to village officials, had encamped at the national high school adjacent to the barangay hall, where many residences are located.
“After dropping 14 bombs in our village, they have sent a heavy deployment of troops in our midst,” Cayetano said, referring to the three APCs (armored personnel carriers) that were stationed in the village following the attacks.
During a dialogue with military officials, Cayetano said he raised the concerns of the villages. “I asked the military if it is right for them to just drop bombs like that even without clear basis, if indeed their enemy is around, and without even coordinating with us. But they told us that they do not even inform the mayor when they conduct operations like this, why would they inform us?” Cayetano said.
Cayetano said officials from the 73rd IB led by Sgt. Babao and Sgt. Gutierrez came to the barangay hall Friday that week to apologize. They told the residents that they were just doing their jobs.
Cayetano told them the damage had already been done and that they could only hope it wont happen again. “But what assurance do we have?” he asked. (Cheryll D. Fiel/davaotoday.com)
