News Release
April 7, 2007
References: Ka Willy Marbella, internal deputy secretary general, KMP and ANAKPAWIS party list nominee
Carl Anthony Ala, public information officer
After killing of 2 peasant leaders in Cagayan Valley: Another militant threatened by death squad-KMP
The militant Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) and the ANAKPAWIS party list group lambasted the escalating attacks against its leaders and members in Cagayan Valley the past week, where two of its leaders were abducted and were found dead the other day. Early today another militant was threatened by members of the death squad for participating in the fact-finding mission conducted by KMP and Karapatan.
According to Ka Willy Marbella, internal deputy secretary general of KMP and ANAKPAWIS party list nominee, The KMP and Karapatan fact-finding team found out that Ka Arthur Orpilla and Ka Dionisio Battad were full of stab and bullet wounds. Their fingers were hacked and their necks were slashed. Battads head was almost cut off because of the severity of his neck wound, his left eye was also plucked and his ear severed,
Glorias men are savages, they are despicable. Their brutality rivals those of the Nazis and they should be punished for their crimes immediately. It seems that they have changed their tactic when international pressure was exerted upon the Macapagal-Arroyo regime regarding the killings. Now they abduct the victims first, torture them and then kill them, added the peasant leader.
Sherwin Bunaga, 32 and a volunteer of ANAKPAWIS was harassed around 1 o clock this morning when men on an unidentified vehicle stopped in front of his house and shouted Sherwin, putang ina mo, papatayin ka hayop ka! then sped away on the highway. We will not let this pass, until justice is served. We will ensure that the suffering of our members and the death of martyrs of the people will not be in vain, said Marbella.
Meanwhile Girlie Padilla of KARAPATAN said the military is again denying that they were the ones, who were daily asking Ka Dionisio to report to their camp since December, but we have a lot of witnesses and we can prove this in court. They were also the ones who asked him to report to the military camp on the 27th,
If anything untoward happens to the families and associates of our two comrades then we know that it is again the AFP who is behind it. The families are still fearful for their lives and they are being threatened by the military to remain silent, ended Padilla. # # #
