Thursday, September 25, 2008 Editorials: Theories on the Dauin ‘clash’
SOME people thought something was out of whack when reports said that government troops found identification cards on two of the three people killed in last Friday's encounter between the military and rebels in Dauin, Negros Oriental.
Of particular interest to them was the case of Rachelle Mae Palang, whose body was immediately identified because of her ID card.
But underground elements go around their areas of operation using aliases, thus logic dictates that they won't carry anything that would give their real identity away.
That Rachelle still had her ID card when she died could mean her status at that instance was still "legal" or above-ground, or she would have already disposed of that pesky item.
Armed?
By the way, not all rebels are New People's Army (NPA) members.
The NPA is the armed component of the Communist Party of the Philippines, much like government has its Armed Forces.
And not all those in government are soldiers.
So before labeling somebody as an NPA element, be sure they are not, say, but peasant organizers.
And did Rachelle carry an M-16 rifle?
She may or she may have not, considering that, with the rebels' limited firepower, they won't surely give a high-powered rifle to somebody new and presumably untrained.
Note that Rachelle had companions, including the two who were killed with her.
Some of them possibly lugged the guns found at the encounter site.
Investigation
In interviews with Rachelle's relatives, they said the young woman told them she was going on a medical mission.
So it is possible her stay in that area was not intended to be long, unlike had she wanted to work underground fulltime.
Some sectors believe Rachelle was on "exposure" trip or used her nursing skills (she just passed the board) for her “friends” in that place.
If what happened was a legitimate encounter, then Rachelle could just have been with the "wrong" companions at the wrong time.
And if she was not "NPA" or was not armed, she most probably was with people who had guns, considering the “encounter.”
In that case, the risk of getting killed is high if by chance your companions are in a firefight.
This, of course, is but one view, and the truth can only be found after a thorough and impartial probe of that incident.
