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Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Soldiers kill 9 communist rebels in Palo, Leyte
CEBU CITY -- Members of the Philippine Army's 19th Infantry Battalion reportedly killed nine persons, wounded six others and arrested eight persons they suspect as members of the New People's Army (NPA) in Barangay San Agustin, Palo, Leyte Monday morning.
Seven died on the spot while two others died at the Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center in Tacloban City. The wounded are reportedly in serious condition.
San Agustin, Palo is a 30-minute drive away from Tacloban City.
This is the third consecutive day that military and communist guerrillas have clashed.
Nine soldiers were killed in Calinog town in Iloilo Province when the NPA detonated a land mine under the Army truck. A police officer died and three others were wounded in Tiaong, Quezon Province when insurgents ambushed them.
The Central Command (Centcom) based in Cebu City defended the military offensive. Centcom spokesman Col. Jeffrey Omandam said the Army was going after rebels.
Legislators representing leftist party-list groups, meanwhile, branded the Armed Forces of the Philippines "as the country's number one terrorist group" following the killing of farmers in Palo.
Representatives Liza Maza (Gabriela), Joel Virador and Satur Ocampo (Bayan Muna) said the farmers were beneficiaries of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program and were taking part in the Balik Uma activity.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said the suspension of the Joint Agreement on Security and Immunity Guarantee has led to the increased number of encounters and even attacks from the Communist Party of the Philippines-NPA.
He said we are now in what he called an "open country" as the military and police have also stepped up their offensives against the rebel groups.
Omandam said the Army team that conducted the strike recovered an M16 rifle, a carbine, two shotguns, four revolvers, two handheld radios, a telescope and subversive documents. Among the eight arrested, one was a minor.
But Dennis Abarrientos, secretary general for Central Visayas of the cause-oriented group Karapatan, said officials from the Department of Agrarian Reform and Palo polices were supposed to witness the farmers' activity, but several heavily armed soldiers arrived and began firing with M203 grenade rifles.
Abarrientos said they will file multiple murder and frustrated murder against the Army unit and its patrol leader as soon as they have the accounts of the witnesses.
Police in Palo confirmed that Bayan Muna members were killed and wounded in the encounter. But they denied they were invited to witness and secure the turnover of the titles to 15 families as beneficiaries of DAR's Balik Uma program.
The Army contacted the Palo police station to be on alert for the presence of NPA rebels in San Agustin at 11:25 p.m. last Sunday. At 5 a.m. Monday, the Army advised the Palo police through two-way radio to keep all their men in the headquarters to avoid a misencounter.
"Next thing I knew, there were already casualties," Palo Police Chief Rito Pacanan told Sun.Star Cebu in a long distance interview.
Omandam of Centcom said there was a 45-minute gunfight between the rebels and the Army.
However, a resident identified as Timbo Kapatoy alleged that no shootout happened.
Interviewed by Jasmine Bonifacio, reporter for local radio station dyDW Radio Diwa based in Tacloban City, Kapatoy said the civilians had no weapons while the soldiers were in full battle gear wearing black uniforms and cloth masks.
Kapatoy said they heard three successive shots before the Army rained bullets on them.
Bonifacio told Sun.Star Cebu that when her news team arrived for the DAR activity, the encounter already took place.
Major Louie Dagoy, 19th IB commander, told Bonifacio that the incident was a result of a legitimate operation, not a massacre.
He said that had they intended to kill all those people, they would not have bothered to take the wounded to the hospital.
Dagoy said they received reports since last month about the presence of NPA rebels.
However, the town mayor's chief of staff, Boy Acebedo, denied this.
Acebedo said the Army's claims were "baseless" and were mere allegations to cover up what they did.
Mayor Teodoro Sevilla ordered a paraffin test on those who were killed to prove that there was no gunfight.
Acebedo told Sun.Star Cebu in a telephone interview that Palo is a booming town and that the allegation that there were many rebels in the area might ruin the town's image. (MEA/AIV of Sun.Star Cebu/Sunnex)
(November 22, 2005 issue)
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