Mar 09, 2004

Cordillera: 1300 Human Rights violations recorded during the last year


The Cordillera Human Rights Organization (CHRO) reported that cases of human rights violations have dramatically increased in indigenous areas of the country
Close to 1,300 cases of human rights (HR) violations were recorded in the Cordilleras from January 2003 up to the present with some of the victims reportedly summarily executed by the police or military after mistakenly identified, a human rights group said Monday.

The Cordillera Human Rights Organization (CHRO) reported that cases of human rights violations also dramatically increased in indigenous areas in other parts of the country, particularly in the Mindoro group of islands and Mindanao.

In the Cordilleras, among the sensational cases of human rights violations reportedly perpetrated by the police and military were the killings of Efren Agsayang, Etfew Chadya-as and Victor Balais.

Agsayang was a young deaf-mute hunter in Mankayan, Benguet who was killed by policemen hunting down the seven-armed robbers that carted away 21 kilos of gold bars from the compound of Lepanto Mines Division.

Chadya-as of Sadanga, Mt. Province and Balais of Kalinga were reportedly summarily executed by suspected military on mere suspicion that they were New People’s Army (NPA) members.

The cases of human rights violations were among the important issues discussed by more than 100 representatives of indigenous communities during the recently-concluded human rights conference at the Ateneo de Manila University.

Regional participants in the workshop said military deployment resulted in violations of the people’s civil and political rights as well as collective rights as indigenous peoples.

They noted that violations worsened all over the country even after United Nations Special Rapporteur Rodolfo Stavenhagen found out their sorry situation during his visit to the country in December 2002.

Participants also reported that human rights violations increased in southern Mindanao from January 2002 to December 2003 with 702 cases affecting 17,600 individuals.

Most notable among the reports were the massacre and murder of indigenous peoples, they claimed.

Sensational cases included the massacre perpetrated on July 23, 2003 by the Charlie Company, 16th IB, 2nd ID of the Army against a Mangyan family in Oriental Mindoro namely Roger Blanco Sr., wife Olivia, who was eight months pregnant, and their sons Roger Jr., 3, and Dexter, 11.

Likewise, the children of Doming Titoh, a member of the Subanen tribe, namely Cemin, 11, Arnel, 8, Dennis, 5, and Marly, 3, were reportedly killed on July 16, 2002 by security guards of the Sirawai Plywood and Lumber Corporation in Tigpaly, Tungawan, Zamboanga.

Workshop participants said the military deployment in indigenous communities are intended to continue to implement "development projects" of the State and other corporate interests. (Sun.Star Baguio)