DAVAO CITY – The human rights group Karapatan here has blamed the deployment of several Philippine Army battalions in the Davao Region for evacuation and complaints of alleged harassment of villagers in the hinterlands.
The group’s spokesperson, Hanimay Suazo, said the region now has 25 battalions spread mostly in Compostela Valley. They roughly constitute 12,000 soldiers.
“This makes Southern Mindanao the most militarized region,” Suazo told a press interview early this week.
The Armed Forces’ Eastern Mindanao Command (Eastmincom) confirmed the deployment here last month of two battalions from Luzon and one battalion from Central Mindanao to help existing troops ward off any possible attacks from the New People’s Army.
Eastmincom spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Lyndon Paniza, said there are now 14 battalions, four infantry brigades and special forces under the 10th Infantry Division which covers the Davao Region.
Suazo said the military’s counter-insurgency campaign this year has led to a string of reported harassments against civilians in the three towns of Maco in Compostela Valley; Talaingod in Davao del Norte and Paquibato District in Davao City.
Karapatan said they documented cases of human rights violations such as using civilians as guides during operations, intimidating residents and using schools and public places for military use.
Suazo said the military operations had intensified this year as the AFP’s counterinsurgency Operat
AFP spokesperson Brigadier General Domingo Tutaan defended soldiers move to stay in barangay centers saying they had permission from municipal and barangay officials to conduct peace and development campaign.
“It is the barangay officials who want to have detachments in their localities; it’s only Karapatan that is opposed to it. Who do we follow the greater number of populace who see the benefit of detachments to fight against extortion, and murder; than those who just put up a banner that said remove detachments,” asked Tutaan.
Tutaan dared Karapatan to bring their complaints to due process of the law “and not air it out in public”.
Suazo said however, that barangay officials had been “intimidated or coerced” by military officials to comply with Oplan Bayanihan’s peace and development or civil military operations campaigns.
The Karapatan spokesperson added that the victims’ experience in the legal process has been “unresponsive” and “not victim-centered”.
“We cite the case of Roque Antivo (the eight-year old boy reportedly killed during a military ambush in Mabini, Compostela Valley), we were surprised that the provincial prosecutor dropped the complaint for lack of evidence when Roque’s family witnessed what happened,” Suazo said.
“This case, as well as other cases, neither the Commission on Human Rights nor provincial prosecutor, had helped the victims. Where is the government when the people need them?” Suazo said.
She said affected communities have resorted to organize themselves “to assert for their rights, such as the case of Talaingod Manobos who evacuated and demand for a dialogue with provincial officials”.
Suazo said they will also press for another round of dialogue with the 10th ID to be brokered again by Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte as what happened last February. She said violations by the 10th ID have been continuing in despite Duterte’s statement that soldiers should stay out of houses and public facilities.
“If the military claims it has abide by the rule of law, then it has to respect civilian supremacy as mandated by the Constitution, Soldiers also have to abide by laws such as Republic Act 7610 that prohibit soldiers to camp in public places such as barangay halls and schools,” Suazo said.
Republic Act 7610 provides for stronger protection of children from abuse, cruelty and discrimination. (davaotoday.com)
