Monday, August 17, 2009

MINDANAO TRIBAL LEADERS BEING MAN-HUNTED BY NPA'S

For this month alone, a total of 15 civilians have fallen prey to the claws of local members of New People’s Army in Mindanao. These attacks which were mainly instigated against known tribal leaders in the provinces of Compostela Valley, Davao del Norte, Agusan del Sur and Davao del Sur was now being categorically denounced by members of the Davao-based Mindanao Indigenous Peoples Conference for Peace and Development or MIPCPD which had only conducted an IP Summit on Human Rights Violations perpetrated by NPA elements in Mindanao last year in Davao City. Victims of the NPAs’ most recent killing spree include:

a.Mandaya Tribe leader Datu Florillo “Liling” Andersan who was ambushed and peppered with bullets while already bleeding to death on the ground by five armed rebels in Brgy Salvacion, Monkayo, ComVal Province on July 7;

b.Tribal leader Datu Dado Piag who was publicly killed inside a billiard hall at Brgy Pasian, Monkayo without any provocation on July 9;

c.Tribal leaders Datu Luzmindo Behing and Datu Gonzalo Quillano who were ambushed by rebels on July 20 in Poblacion Sibagat in Agusan del Norte with the former succumbing to death and Quillano still in critical condition at the MJ Hospital in Butuan City;

d.Tribal Chieftain Feliciano “Datu Oloy” Ador who was strafed with bullets by motorcycle-riding men at Brgy Cabaywa, Poblacion Asuncion in Davao del Norte on July 20;

e.Tribal leader and former Barangay Chairman Datu Canuto Lumbayon together with four other companions were ambushed by more than 20 fully armed rebels at Sitio Pamagtingon, Brgy Salaysay, Marilog District, Davao City on July 24. Datu Lumbayon together with two other civilians were killed while another is still fighting for his life at the Davao Medical Center;

f.Tribal leader and also La Paz Municipal Administrator Datu Lauro Mordeno together with five others were attacked by fully armed rebels at Crossing Mabuya, Km 6, La Paz. Two of the tribal leader’s companions were critically wounded during said ambuscade.
During the summit which was held December 2008, one of the NPA’s most recent victims, Datu Florillo “Liling” Andersan of the Mandaya Tribe was even heard commenting against the rebels’ exploitation of the Mindanao tribes’ poverty and fear of the armed group to recruit members, most of whom according to Liling were still minors. Because of these recent atrocities, leaders from the different tribes in Mindanao are now waiting for human rights groups particularly Karapatan to condemn to the fullest degree the cruelty of local NPA rebels who carried out said extrajudicial killings in Mindanao.
The leaders are afraid that these recent attacks perpetrated by the local NPAs would be a repeat of the Sarano Massacre which happened on June 25, 1989 in Davao del Sur where a church in Binato in Sarano was attacked by NPA rebels, killing a total of 38 Lumads in one strike.

1 comment:

  1. Being an American going to live in Davao I will be Asking the USA Government to bring American troups into the area once I am living there I will be writing the USA government for troups if I see such things happening in areas where I have relation living north of Tagum City. I have interests there in 3 rice farms now and I am not in a MOOD to put up with hostile actions when poor people have hard enough time just trying to feed themselves and make a living. If the Philippine army cannot control it then I am sure American troups could. We can at least fabricate threats to the USA and bring troups in one way or another. When you have bad people thinking they can just do anything they want with no retaliations then its time to show them your foot in their behind.

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