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Friday, April 25, 2003
DOJ to probe death of activists in Mindoro
By Benjamin B. Pulta
JUSTICE officials flew to Mindoro Oriental Thursday to look into the killing of two human rights activists allegedly by military men.
Acting upon orders of President , Justice Undersecretary Jose C. Calida designated Senior State Prosecutor Theodore Villanueva and State Prosecutor Ruben Zacarias to head an investigation panel to probe the killing of Elaine Marcellana and Eddie Gumanoy.
"We will conduct the investigation as soon as possible," Calida said. "We will determine whether reports that the military or vigilantes are involved are, indeed, true."
Marcellana and Gumanoy's remains were found Tuesday in a bamboo grove a few meters from a highway in Bansud town in the island-province.
They were among five activists seized in Naujan town last Monday by masked men who claimed to be anti-communist vigilantes. The victims were on a fact-finding mission looking into allegations of military abuses in Oriental Mindoro.
Marcellana was secretary-general of the Alyansa sa Pagsulong ng Karapatang Pantao in Southern Tagalog (Karapatan-ST), while Gumanoy was chairman of the militant farmer’s group Kasapian ng mga Samahang Magbubukid sa Timog Katagalugan (Kasama-TK). Both groups are based in Southern Luzon.
Marcellana was shot in the head, while Gumanoy bore gunshot wounds in the head and chest.
In a statement, the party-list group Bayan Muna said Marcellana was supposed to testify at the Commission on Appointments (CA) against the promotion of Col. Jovito Palparan, commander of the Army’s 204th Infantry Brigade, whom militant groups have called the "Butcher of Mindoro."
Bayan Muna has filed a formal opposition to Palparan’s promotion with the CA, according to its secretary-general Robert de Castro. "Palparan was aware of her (Marcellana’s) role in exposing his exploits in Oriental Mindoro," he said.
Palparan, however, denied that his unit was involved in the abduction-killings, and in human rights violations in Oriental Mindoro.
Three others remain missing. They are Francisco Saez and Melvin Jocson, provincial coordinators of the peasant-workers’ group Anakpawis in Oriental Mindoro, and Virgilio Catoy, a member of the award-winning audio-visual group ST-Exposure.
(April 25, 2003 issue)
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