MISSING POULTRY. Aladin Rosquites points to the cage where their chickens are kept. The chicken have been lost after alleged soldiers fired at their house. (Earl O. Condeza/davaotoday.com)
LAAK, Compostela Valley – Bullet holes on walls and ceilings, scattered clothes, damaged farm materials and missing poultry greet survivors of a massacre in this interior town as they go back to their house for an independent investigation on Saturday, June 4.
The owner of the house, Aladin Rosquites, 34 years old, was with his older brother Randy Rosquites, 42 years old during that time. Both were rubber tappers.
Randy was dismayed of what he saw, “this is the first time I came back here after the incident.”
“It was tidy back then, I was hurt, it was so clean before,” Randy continued, “I am just a farmer, was working well, but why does this happen to us?” he asked.
AFTERMATH. Family members of the survivors of the strafing of a house in Laak, Compostela Valley witnessed the aftermath of the shooting. They note the missing personal belongings such as identification cards, wallet, mobile phones, and clothes. (Earl O. Condeza/davaotoday.com)
The family did not touch nor arrange the scattered things inside their house as they said that it should be fixed by those who fired gunshots at them, and it will be used as evidence.
They joined support organizations which conducted an ocular inspection on the house of the farmers in Purok 20, Barangay Kapatagan, Laak, Compostela Valley, that was allegedly fired upon by more than 20 soldiers on June 2, Thursday 4:30 in the morning.
Fortunately, the two farmers who were inside the house during the strafing incident fled the house premises without being hit with bullets, but suffered scratches and bruises after they ran to the forest to escape.
SHELLINGS. Bullet shells are recovered during the Fact Finding Mission on June 4, Saturday. (Earl O. Condeza/davaotoday.com)
Bullet shellings were found around the house premises, the back packs with working clothes in it of Randy and Aladin were taken, including cellphones, government issued IDs, wallets, and even the cage of their chicken were left open, chickens missing.
The firing
MARKINGS. Bullet holes pepper the wall of this house when armed men believed to be soldiers strafed the house on June 2, Thursday dawn. (Earl O. Condeza/davaotoday.com)
During the ocular inspection, Aladin recalled the incident, he said, “massacre jud to, kay gidiritso man nila og ratrat ang balay.” (It was a massacre, they directly open fired at our house).
“It was not raid, nor legitimate encounter because we are civilians,” he said.
Used to waking up early morning, the two farmers were already awake at 4:30 am on Thursday listening to the radio.
Randy said that they first noticed two individuals approaching their house and told his brother, Aladin to check who it was.
“I opened the door and let our dog out to check it first, but our puppy was hit and it cried out, then Aladin went out first and gun shots rang out in the air,” Randy said.
He then followed Aladin escaping, but through a different route.
“I had chosen the shorter route before reaching the barrio, while it took (Aladin) an hour before he arrived. I was worried by that but was relieved when we saw each other,” Randy said.
The brothers sought safety at their house in Kapatagan, about 15 kilometers away from their house where the strafing incident occurred.
FARMING TOOLS. The sprayer is not spared from the strafing incident. (Earl O. Condeza/davaotoday.com)
Meanwhile, the mother of the farmer brothers, Virginia Etol Rosquites, who was staying at their house in the barrio was worried when they heard the gunshots early in the morning.
“My daughter-in-law (wife of Randy) woke me up, panicking, ‘Ma, Ma, naay buto buto Ma!’ (mother, mother, there are gunshots!),” Virginia recalled being told by her in-law.
Virginia was somehow thankful that she was not there that time when the strafing happened.
“I used to stay there to help them prepare food,” she said.
Looking for NPA Commanders
Virginia believed the possible motive of the strafing was about soldiers searching for certain Kumander Wendel and Paeng of the New People’s Army.
She recalled that on April 30, soldiers came in to their house investigating and asking whereabouts of the two mentioned members of the NPA. During that time, she said that they answered soldiers politely that they have no knowledge on the whereabouts of the two commanders.
“Last time, we do not have any problem when soldiers rove around our house,” She said.
“They do not fire gunshots that time and we also answered properly, but what have they done now?” she asked.
When asked if there is something in their knowledge that could be the motive of strafing their house, Virginia said, “it is a common knowledge here in our community that we do have relatives who are NPA members, but that does not mean that they will target us because we are civilians,” she added.
Aside from relatives who are member of the rebel group, the family affirmed that this incident was because of their relative who is now under the custody of the 60th IB.
PETS. Some of the pet birds kept by the Rosquites family are still inside the house even as the family has sought refuge from relatives. (Earl O. Condeza/davaotoday.com)
“I have a niece, Marlon Samson, he guided the soldiers here,” Virginia said.
According to the family, Samson is a known thief in their community who has blotter on his name in the police.
They said that Samson himself admitted to them that he has been working with the military and influencing their relatives to work with hem in search of the two known NPA commanders with the condition that he “will be promoted as a soldier” if he will catch the rebel leaders.
Randy, however, said that hours after the incident, a neighbor told him that more than 20 soldiers blocked his neighbor, asking questions if he was the one running for he has scratches. He said that he was told by his neighbor that it was Samson who guided the soldiers to their house.
The information from his neighbor, Randy said, gave them a confirmation that it was indeed the soldiers who strafed their house in the forest.
Aladin, who saw the perpetrators before firing gunshots last June 2, Thursday, confirmed that it was indeed that same soldiers who visited them last April 30 asking whereabouts of the two NPA commanders.
Legal actions
AID. Kapatagan Barangay Captain Moises D. Doca (right) assures the family of the Rosquites (left) to shoulder the damages to their house when armed men believed to be soldiers fired at their house. (Earl O. Condeza/davaotoday.com)
Before the ocular inspection, Kapatagan Barangay Captain Moises D. Doca assured the survivors that the local government will provide assistance for their damaged house. Doca said it will be better if the house gets fixed.
On Thursday, Doca said that the family already filed blotter at the barangay and look at the possibility of transferring the area of responsibility of the soldiers involved.
“If possible we will request to the mayor to reassign them (soldiers),” Doca said.
Doca said that the incident is not common in their barangay as there was no military detachment. “Maybe they were just patrolling and thought of the farmers house to be the target they are looking that is why they fired.”
“We could not still pinpoint of who did it, we do not know them. The barangay will help the farmers, who are now afraid to go back to their farms,” Doca said.
He said that the case should be processed immediately to know the identity of the perpetrators and assured the farmers that the barangay will shoulder the damages done to them.
Meanwhile, Belen Galleto, from Makabayan in Compostela Valley, who led the ocular inspection, said that they will be conducting press conference together with other farmer victims of militarization.
The group, together with the Rosquites family, already filed blotter at the municipal police of Laak last Saturday, June 4. (davaotoday.com)
