(From left) Pregnant women, Arlene Candiban and her cousin-in-law Elisa Candiban, courageously file charges against government officials at the Ombudsman in Mindanao in Davao City on Monday, April 25. (Medel V. Hernani/davaotoday.com)
DAVAO CITY – Imelda Penaso, 42, of Arakan Valley spent a week in detention after joining the protest of farmers in Kidapawan City late last March.
Penaso, who has seven children, said she decided to join the protest as their crops were severely affected by the drought. She was arrested along with nearly 80 others after police fired and dispersed their protest barricade in Kidapawan, North Cotabato national highway last April 1.
On Monday, April 25, Penaso joined the group of victims composed of farmers and advocates who filed charges against at least 94 government officials at the Ombudsman Mindanao.
“We are victims of injustice. What we asked from the government was rice, but the police fired at us,” she told Davao Today.
Two sets of complaints were filed by the victims.
The first complaint was for charges of murder, frustrated murder, three counts of attempted murder, violations of the Republic Act 9745 or the Anti Torture Law; RA 7438 or the Rights of Accused; Batas Pambansa 880 or the Public Assembly Act; Presidential Decree 1829 or the Obstruction of Justice; gross misconduct, grave abuse of authority, gross oppression and for conduct unbecoming of a public officer.
Charged were Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Mel Senen Sarmiento; North Cotabato Governor Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza; Kidapawan Mayor Joseph Evangelista; Philippine National Police Director Ricardo Marquez; PNP Regional Director for Region 12 Police Superintendent Noel Armilla; PNP Deputy Regional Director for Operations Region 12 Police Senior Superintendent Roberto Badian; North Cotabato PNP provincial director P/SSupt. Alexander Tagum; Kidapawan Police Chief P/Insp. John Calinga; 10th Infantry Division Commander Major General Rafael Valencia; 1002nd Brigade Commander Col. Ronald Villanueva; Ground Commander of the PNP Strike Force P/Dir. Isagani Nerez; a certain Lt. Col. Birrey; 39th Infantry Battalion Commander Lt. Col. Arnold Argamosa; Fire Senior Inspector Noa Pacalda; military agent Charlie Pasco; SPO4 Dan Occeña Tobias; SPO2 Roderick Caballero, a certain Sgt. Obiano; SPO1 Boynel Lumogdang; PO1 Solon and PO2 Baldua, among several John Does.
Meanwhile, the second set of complaints were filed against Taliño-Mendoza; members of the North Cotabato Crisis Committee; Sarmiento, Marquez; Evangelista; Barangay Captain Lamata of Barangay Poblacion; Armilla;Tagum; Badian; Calinga; a certain Lt. Col. Birrey; Argamosa; Villanueva; elements of the SWAT North Cotabato, elements of 39th Infantry Battalion- Philippine Army, elements of the Bureau of Fire Protection Unit, and 71 named officers in the trumped-up Complaints for Direct Assault Upon Agents of Persons in Authority as well as Frustrated Homicide cases filed against the farmers before the courts of Kidapawan City.
The charges in the second set of complaints include: violations of RA 7438 or “An Act Defining Certain Rights of Persons Arrested, Detained or Under Custodial Investigation, As Well as the Duties of the Arresting, Detaining and Investigating Officers”; RA No. 9745 – “An Act Penalizing Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment” particularly Sections 4 (b) (9), Section 4 (b) (10) and Section 5 thereof; BP 880; Article 124 of the Revised Penal Code – Arbitrary Detention; Article 183 of the Revised Penal Code – Perjury in Solemn Affirmation; PD No. 1829- “Penalizing Obstruction of Apprehension and Prosecution of Criminal Offenders” and all other crimes that the respondents have violated as found by the Honorable Office of the Ombudsman.
Partial list
Atty. Joel Mahinay of the Union of People’s Lawyers in Mindanao said the list of respondents is partial.
The list includes members of the SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) team. “But we don’t know what are the names of the SWAT team (members). In fact the Senate is still requiring the PNP to submit those names,” he said.
He said the names they have identified “were based on their admission that they were there.”
The SWAT team was already in the area as early as March 30, he said.
The UPLM, the National Union of People’s Lawyers and the Public Interest Law Center filed the charges on behalf of the victims.
Immediate resolution
Mahinay said they hope the cases will be resolved immediately.
“Of course, this will entail investigation so we have to observe due process. Hopefully, as early as possible, we can have the result,” he said.
He said based on his experience, cases filed before the Ombudsman “sometimes takes three or four years”.
However, he said they still filed the case because they believe that the farmers have “valid grievance.”
“The fact of death is not anymore contestable,” he said pertaining to the death of two individuals including 22-year old Darwin Sulang from Arakan Valley, who died due to gunshot wounds.
Deputy Ombudsman for Mindanao Rodulfo Elman said they will “receive and acknowledge the receipt of this complaint.”
“We have tasked already the head of our Case Records Bureau to make the necessary verification of the affiants,” he said.
The affiants verified the statements of their affidavit of complaints before the Ombudsman transmits it to the central office in Manila for investigation.
Elman said the transmission of the complaint is easy, but the process of getting the documents in support of the complaint will take time.
Significant filing
Bagong Alyansang Makabayan national secretary general Renato Reyes said the filing of the case is significant because of the big number of respondents involved in the case.
“By its sheer volume, I don’t think there’s a case this big that was filed before the Ombudsman in Mindanao,” he said.
“This is important because (President Aquino) has already absolved the police officers. We want to show that what the President said is wrong. There are officials who are accountable, from the PNP, LGU, even from the AFP,” said Reyes.
He said the fight of the farmer’s “is going to be difficult”.
“We don’t expect any justice to happen in the remaining months of the Aquino administration,” he said.
One of the victims who was earlier charged with direct assault and was released on bail, Valentina Berdin, 78, said she pursued the case “to get justice.” (davaotoday.com)
