Wednesday, September 24, 2008 Wife, neighbor of another Cebuano slain in NegOr stunned by ‘rebel’ tag By Mia E. Abellana Sun.Star Staff Reporter
THE Central Command’s Lt. Gen. Pedro Ike Inserto welcomes “any fair investigation” but warns this would go deep into the biography of Rachelle Mae Palang.
Inserto said Palang’s days as a student and other aspects of her life will be scrutinized to find out how she reached the mountain village of Malungcay Dako, Dauin town, Negros Oriental.
Inserto added that even Pope Benedict XVI could investigate him and his men because they had “nothing to hide.”
“It was a legitimate encounter. I can say that 100 times in front of everybody in Cebu and even up to the high heavens,” Inserto told reporters yesterday.
The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) is set to investigate the incident, following the resolution passed by the Cebu Provincial Board.
Primo Cadampog, CHR 7 investigator, said that CHR 7 Director Alejandro Alonso issued an order to Jesus Cañete, an investigator in Dumaguete City, to start the probe.
Cañete was directed to go to the site, interview witnesses, gather documents related to incident and to get the side of the military and of victims’ relatives to find out if any human rights were violated.
Though some sectors expressed disbelief in Palang’s possible involvement in the armed rebel movement, Inserto maintained she was a party committee member based on how she was found.
Inserto also asked parents to look into the activities of their children.
Palang had reportedly told her parents she would be going on a three-month medical mission to Negros Oriental.
“We conduct medical missions every now and then. For one day, we spend about P50,000 worth of medicines. For two days, we spend P100,000. If she (Palang) said she will conduct a medical mission for three months, that means she must have millions with her? There is no such thing as a medical mission that lasts for three months,” Inserto said.
As for calls to examine if the military followed the rules of engagement, Inserto asked critics to point out to them what rules were not followed.
“We cannot blame the troops if they shot at those people. They did not know who Miss Palang was. All they saw was this group brandishing firearms. They don’t have to think twice baka maunahan tayo. Eh di kami naman ang natamaan,” Inserto said.
He explained that in Thursday’s encounter, his men were fortunate to have been stationed at vantage points.
In a firefight, anyone in the area is at risk of being hit and it would be disadvantageous for his men to call out to a group of “armed” persons and warn them of their presence, the official said.
“For us, and I’m sorry to say this, there is no doubt that she is a regular NPA,” he added.
Meanwhile, the wife and neighbors of Jerrey Cabungcag were shocked about the rebel tag the military has given him.
Jerrey, 27, reportedly left his house in Sitio Lawis, Barangay Pasil, Cebu City last Sept. 15 and told his wife Josephine that he would attend a fiesta in Bohol.
Josephine could not say which town he was going to but said her mother-in-law was from the province.
On Saturday, she heard reports that he was one of three killed in an encounter in Negros Oriental.
Josephine said she approached Karapatan because she noticed in news reports that they were active in this kind of activities and because she did not know anybody in Negros.
She admitted she did not believe it was her husband’s body lying inside a wooden box that was in the living room of their house.
“Mas ganahan ko maghuna-huna nga tua pa siya sa Bohol namista (I would rather believe he’s still in Bohol, enjoying the fiesta),” she told reporters. Josephine admitted she did not look at the body and only relied on funeral parlor employees to tell her that the photo of Jerrey she showed them resembled the man in the morgue.
Jerrey left behind two sons, aged six and two.
Josephine said she owed it to her husband to seek justice for his death but has not decided yet whom to approach.
She added that she felt harassed while in Negros Oriental because plainclothes officers kept delaying her when she went to claim her husband’s body. She alleged there were men who kept taking pictures of her and followed her until she reached Cebu.
Cebu Provincial Police Office Director Carmelo Valmoria said they are checking reports that wounded persons from Dauin were in Aloguinsan.
He said that after the encounter, he immediately ordered police chiefs to be on the lookout, especially in coastal barangays fronting Negros island.
He said there were certain areas in Aloguinsan, Pinamungajan and Barili that were influenced by the NPA’s “white area committee” and had some supporters there. (MEA)
