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Thursday, October 09, 2003
Tribal war feared with clan leader's slay
By Edwin G. Espejo
GENERAL SANTOS -- Tuesday's slaying of one of the claimants to a 923-hectare property in Barangay Apopong spurred fears the long simmering dispute over the land may lead to more violence.
The office of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) fears the brutal slaying of Rolando Paglangan, head petitioner of a group claiming ownership over Forest Land Grazing Lease Area 542, would trigger a tribal war among warring parties laying claim to the property in Lanton, Apopong.
Paglangan was on his way home at around 4 p.m. Tuesday after visiting his wife at the General Santos City Reformatory Center when four gunmen on two motorcycles fired at him.
The first volley of gunshots immediately hit the victim whose car crashed into the roadside.
Witnesses said they saw at least two gunmen approach the car and pumped several more bullets into Paglangan.
After making sure that the victim was already dead, the assassins calmly left the crime scene on their two getaway vehicles.
Tribal war
Tommy Dawang of the NCIP said they are afraid Paglangan's tribe would retaliate. If the situation is not arrested, a tribal war could result, he added.
Paglangan was the head of a B'laan faction claiming rights over the former Alcantara ranch.
Dawang said the B'laan claimants could end up at the losing end if a tribal war erupts.
Aside from Paglangan and his group, at least three other B'laan and Muslim clans are laying claim to the property, a former pastureland leased to the Alcantaras.
The Supreme Court had declared the contested land as ancestral domain, upholding a Court of Appeals decision on the issue.
Among those claiming ownership over the vast area of arable lands are the Mola, Pendatun and Gawan clans.
Dispute related
The NCIP office said the killing of Paglangan could be related to the dispute over the property.
Just last week, Paglangan expressed his desire to have the land returned to the Alcantaras to ease the brewing tension in the area.
Sources, however, said the NCIP could be partly blamed for the delay in resolving the dispute among contending parties.
Two weeks ago, a team from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), backed by police and military authorities, tried to conduct a perimeter survey in the area to determine the boundaries of the disputed property.
The NCIP blocked the survey, claiming it did not have authority to allow such survey and must ask permission from the national office.
Sources claimed though that the NCIP head office reneged on its earlier commitment, for still undisclosed reasons, to hold a joint perimeter survey with the DENR on the property.
Getaway vehicles
The dispute on who should be given ownership of the former Alcantara ranch was one of the issues tackled during the visit of Environment Secretary Elisea Gozun to the city last month.
Parties involved in the dispute warned DENR and NCIP officials then that violence could erupt if the row was not resolved immediately.
On Tuesday, their fears may have been realized, with the killing of Paglangan, a leader of a group of property claimants.
Witnesses to the B'laan man's killing said they failed to get the license plates of the getaway vehicles although police were told these were Kawasaki Aura and Honda Dream motorcycles.
Paglangan was driving alone in his Mazda car when four gunmen peppered his vehicle with bullets.
Police investigators said they recovered at least 30 empty shells from a .45 caliber pistol from the crime scene.
Investigators also revealed Paglangan, who died immediately, suffered 11 gunshot wounds. Six deformed slugs were also recovered near the body of the victim. Sun.Star General Santos
(October 9, 2003 issue)
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