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Wednesday, April 16, 2003
Soldiers storm, put X marks on houses
By Ben O. Tesiorna, Seth delos Reyes, and Rex C. Otero
DAVAO -- Residents of Muslim Village, NHA Bangkal, Davao City were terrified after 300 military men raided their houses Monday afternoon.
"Mga tawo diri nakuratan kay first time lang nakakita nga daghan kaayo'g mga sundalo (We were frightened because that was the first time we saw so many soldiers)," according to one resident who refused to be identified.
Residents said four military trucks jampacked with soldiers accompanied by two Simba arrived in their village in full battle gear.
Soldiers were then posted on every street corner while others started entering houses at around 2 p.m., even without coordinating with their community leaders.
They were more terrified when for unknown reasons, some houses were marked with a letter "X" by the soldiers.
"Hadlok mi kay gimarkahan og X ang likod sa among balay, dili hinuon tanan, pero akoa naay X sa likod (We were scared when they started painting x-marks on
some houses. Not all houses were marked, but mine was)," Miridan Millores said in an interview with dxDC.
According to Nida Calusan, another resident, the soldiers invaded her house around 2 p.m. while they were watching TV.
"Wala sila nagpaila. Niingon lang nga pwede mi mosaka? Gipablihan akong mga cabinet gipangtan-aw hasta among mga labhonon (They did not introduce themselves. They merely asked if they can enter. Then they started going through our cabinets, even searched through our soiled clothes)," she said.
She added that she did not show any sign of resistance after she heard that the military can go inside houses without any search warrant.
"Pagtalon nila sa trak takbuhan kaagad papunta sa mga bahay na parang sumusulong sa gyera (As soon as they jumped off their trucks, they immediately entered
houses like they were staging an attack)," a Muslim woman said. Some were wearing bonnets and covered their nameplates, she claimed.
When asked for their identity, some arrogantly answered "itanong nyo na lang kay Mayor (go ask the mayor)" referring to Davao City Mayor Rody Duterte, the
residents said.
Other residents who wished to remain anonymous said the soldiers even went inside houses whose residents are not around. However, they cannot confirm whether the soldiers took anything with them.
The spokesman of the Police Regional Office 11 Tuesday admitted that elements of the Task Force Davao had recently been "visiting" Muslim villages in and around Davao City.
Sr. Supt. Eric Javier said TF Davao's increased military and police visibility in Muslim areas is a "pre-emptive" operation to stave off any further abduction of Muslim Dabawenyos.
Lt. Col Agane Adriatico, TF Davao's military spokesman, said the suspect was invited for questioning after they received information of alleged Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) men and firearms deposited in the area.
Adriatico said the suspect was released few hours after. He clarified that they had not made any arrests so far and were merely inviting suspicious persons for
questioning.
Muslim residents fear that authorities are wantonly persecuting them based on their religion. Agane, however, denied the accusation. He said TF Davao is
here to protect the Muslims and Christians alike.
"As long as the conscience of Task Force Davao is clear we will do nothing about the alleged reports," he said.
When asked how long will TF Davao stay in the city Agane said they will stay "for as long as the people are not vigilant enough to safeguard the city from
further terrorist attacks".
The 26th Special Forces Battalion from Zamboanga will arrive anytime.
The search operation happened few hours after the dialogue between Presidential Assistant for Mindanao Jesus Dureza, PNP Regional Director Chief Superintendent Isidro Lapena, Adriatico and Undersecretary Zamsamin Ampatuan of the Office of
Muslim Affairs and Muslim leaders in Region 11.
"We are willing to cooperate as what has been asked from us by our leaders, the police and the military but they were the ones who violated what has been agreed
during the dialogue," a community leader who requested not to be identified said.
"It has affected the economy of the people who stayed with their family instead of going to the sea to catch fish fearing that the soldiers will come back in
the evening as they said they will," the leader said.
According to the Muslim leader, some male residents who were once victims of military abuses during the martial law, do not want to experience the trauma all
over again.
"We long for the day that we could feel safe because when we see men in uniform now, we fear being abducted just because we were born Muslims," he added.
The search yielded nothing proof of what kind of people we are in the community, the leader said. (BOTSDRRCOSun.Star Davao)
(April 16, 2003 issue)
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