Leaders of NEBFA and CCPR believe that acts like this create a psychological effect on residents. In the case of farmers and small-scale miners like Ciano and Fernando, they no longer go to their farm or upland areas for fear that they might be suspected as members or sympathizers of the New People’s Army, said Jimmy Bertulfo, chairman of NEBFA.
This was true in the case of Genito Obires, 43, a farmer. Obires said he stopped going to his farm in Mapaso because he felt harassed. They would ask me, ‘Are you an NPA or not?’ Of course, I was afraid each time because they were armed, Obires said.
The New People’s Army has been waging a Maoist insurgency all over the Philippines for more than three decades now. They operate in practically all provinces in the country, including Compostela Valley, where they are said to have grown stronger over the years.
Obires had the same experience in 1986 when he was still in Monkayo, another town near here. One day, he refused to obey the soldiers who told him not to go to the uplands. He was beaten as a result. He has learned his lessons since then, he told davaotoday.com.
Aside from the constant and surprise checkpoints and body searches that border on harassment, the military has likewise practically turned a school, the Bukidnon State University, into a garrison: military hardware and equipment such as two light armored cars, two cannons, three military trucks and two ambulances filled with ammunitions have been placed inside the campus.
The several military checkpoints and the conduct of house-to-house searches and psychological warfare campaigns in the area are a manifestation that New Bataan is experiencing de facto martial rule in the hand of the fascist elements of AFP, said Kelly Delgado, secretary-general of Karapatan in Southern Mindanao.
Last week, around 300 small- scale miners and farmers affiliated with the Kilusang Magubukid sa Pilipinas held demonstrations in this town to protest these alleged abuses by the 28th IB.
Only A Few
Brig. Gen. Carlos Holganza, commanding officer of the 1001st Brigade, told davaotoday.com in a phone interview that only a few of his men are deployed in New Bataan. He said the troops presence here was meant to augment the police in keeping the peace, as well as deal with the alleged extortion activities of the New Peoples Army.
We have received complaints from the community about the extortion activities of the rebels, Holganza said. He also cited the recent burning by the NPA of of a 10-wheel logging truck last April 3.
He criticized the leftist groups for opposing the presence of the military in the town, pointing out that the oft-repeated word militarization, which the leftists often use to describe the deployment, is a highly abused word.
In previous statements to the press, Holganza asserted that these leftist groups have ties with the NPA.
New Bataan Mayor Lorenzo Balbin Jr. says his office has not received any formal complaint against the soldiers or any complaint questioning the conduct of the military.
Nothing to Worry. Mayor Lorenzo Balbin Jr. tells his constituents that they have nothing to worry about. (davaotoday.com photo by Barry Ohaylan)
He acknowledged receiving reports of the militarys school-hopping but pointed out that campaigning against its perceived enemies is part of the militarys advocacy.
They go from school to school for their advocacy. They try to explain the functions and role of the military over the civilians, which is to protect their lives and properties. That is part of their job, Balbin explained.
According to him, the military might really be checking houses of residents because there could be possible presence of NPA rebels in these houses.
The problem, he said, is between the military and the NPA. New Bataan is a passageway to other provinces, that is why rebels happen to pass here, he said.
Balbin said that the 28th IB has been in his town for a long time now and that their removal was out of his hands. He has requested the military, though, to camp elsewhere, far from civilians.
They should not be worried, the mayor said of his constituents. The situation is still under control. He even encouraged farmers and miners to go back to the uplands and continue their livelihood. (Grace S. Uddin/davaotoday.com)
