The contingents were about to celebrate Earth Day as they scored the continuous large-scale logging in the province even after a log ban was enforced and typhoon Pablo has already ravaged the communities, especially that of indigenous peoples and peasants.
By ACE R. MORANDANTE
Davao Today
LUPON, Davao Oriental, Philippines – After the number of police swelled and a truck barred the gate at the Provincial Capitol, about 1,000 activists held a barricade for a few hours in the main road of Mati Tuesday morning. They were earlier blocked several times by the police and military in two separate incidents.
“We were forced to set up the barricade because they didn’t allow us to hold the rally yesterday. We could just not leave with our quest for justice compromised,” said Karlos Trangia, spokesperson for Barug Katawhan, a movement of Pablo victims.
The contingents were about to celebrate Earth Day as they scored the continuous large-scale logging in the province even after a log ban was enforced and typhoon Pablo has already ravaged the communities, especially that of indigenous peoples and peasants.
But Tony Salubre of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) told davaotoday.com that several road blockade delayed their trip and sacrificed their activity.
Salubre said they were first stopped by some 10 policemen in the Poblacion of Banaybanay town at about 4 PM. An official of the Land Transportation Office was also there.
“Gipangitaan og violation ang mga driver. Wala daw nataod ang seatbelt. Na-isyuhan gyud og TOP ang upat ka driver sa elf truck, nakuhaan sila’g lisensya,” he said.
They were only allowed to pass through after an hour of negotiation.
The second was in the boundary of Banaybanay and Lupon towns where, he said, two regular members of the 72nd Infantry Battalion and about seven Cafgus stopped them.
“Gusto nila susihon ang mga sakyanan, unsay mga sulod. Pero naghangyo mi nga dili na panaogon ang mga tao,” Salubre said. He added they were delayed for another 30 minutes.
Salubre said that they were only allowed to pass through when they confronted the soldiers after discovering that “big road spikes” were spread on the streets, few feet away from where they were held. He added that the military denied they were responsible on the spikes.
The contingents, who already reached Poblacion Magdagundong in Lupon at about 7PM, took their dinner and rest.
Meanwhile, this morning in Mati, the protesters said they were blocked by anti-riot police, military vehicles and fire trucks allegedly dispatched by the provincial government.
Nevertheless, they pushed their protest as they raised the issues of alleged hoarding of relief goods by local politicians to give away during the campaign and on the election, corruption, militarization of relief services and the recent harassment of the national fact finding team in Sitio Limot, Binondo village, Baganga town. The issues are said to involve Gov. Corazon Malanyaon who’s seeking for a reelection, unopposed.
Trangia said that despite the large number of “poorly-served typhoon survivors,” they have allegedly heard of relief funds being corrupted while some relief goods are repacked and used in the political campaign of Malanyaon’s partymates. He added that cash-for-work were only afforded to the supporters of Malanyaon’s camp, among others.
“But nobody wanted to speak in the open for fear of being likened to Kagawad Cristina Jose,” he said.
Jose, a councilor of Binondo village and one of the leaders of Barug Katawhan was gunned down in Baganga Poblacion last March 4. She was on her way to Davao City to allegedly expose another anomaly involving the military and the provincial government.
Trangia scored Malanyaon calling her “the biggest and the fiercest logger and destroyer of Davao Oriental’s environment.”
“It is no secret that with the military acting at her behest, she has the capacity to silence anyone who blocks her way” he said.
Barug Katawhan has led the barricade last January at the Montevista National Highway in Compostela Valley for humanitarian aid, and against the large-scale mining corporation Apex in Maco town last March for reparation. They also led a three-day campout outside the DSWD-XI office in Davao City last February, as well as the confiscation of the undistributed relief goods. (Ace R. Morandante/davaotoday.com)
barug katawhan, davao oriental, governor malanyaon, mati, pablo survivors, pablo victims, typhoon pablo victims
