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Monday, January 30, 2006
Armed men massacre family in rebel area
By Ben Serrano
Caraga Correspondent
BUTUAN CITY -- Armed men suspected to be hired assassins massacred three members of the Pamat family in Purok 13, Sitio Bagong Silang, Barangay San Mateo, Butuan City around 8 p.m. Saturday.
Not contented, the suspects burned the Pamat family house and dumped the remains of the massacre victims on the burning furnace of their wooden house.
"It was like hell as I saw lifeless bodies of my father and brother dumped into our burning house. But I put a hold on my emotions as I hid trying to save my life," said lone survivor Joel Pamat.
As the fire died down, the armed men fled. Pamat then went near the charcoaled bodies of his 57-year-old father Mateo, a native of Cebu, and 32-year-old brother Glen Moises.
His nine-year-old adopted sister Irene Grace is still nowhere to be found. She may have been one of the massacre victims. Joel's 54-year-old mother, Estrella, was pronounced dead on arrival at a local hospital.
Joel suspected that a land dispute might have been the motive behind the killings. He claimed the four-hectare land they bought from lumads (tribesmen) in the area was the subject of a land dispute.
He said the suspects opened fired at his helpless father, mother, and brother.
Joel said the armed suspects arrived at their home, shouting for all male dwellers to go out of the house and firing their weapons twice in the air at the same time. This forced all of the dwellers to go outside the house.
As they started to go out, the suspects opened fire at them, hitting them all except Joel who managed to escape. It wasn't known if the neighbors tried to help the Pamat family.
Joel Pamat went to the home of Roger Tabamo, which is one kilometer away, to ask for help and Tabamo accompanied Joel to the Army-Cafgu detachment. Members of the detachment immediately proceeded to the area and pursued the fleeing gunmen.
Joel said over local radio station dxBR Sunday morning that the Butuan city police failed to respond to the incident. The police office is ten kilometers away from Barangay San Mateo.
Policemen allegedly claimed the area is rebel-infested and it was dangerous for them to travel at night there.
Radio station dxBR assistant manager Benjie Balansag in his radio program "Bombo Reports Sunday edition" Sunday morning said he accompanied Joel to the Butuan City Central Police Precinct at 3 a.m. Sunday to report the massacre incident but was dismayed to see policemen sleeping on duty.
"One police officer whom we asked for help was even angry because we arrived in the wee hours of the early morning," the broadcaster in his radio program said.
Balansag claimed a trembling Joel Pamat went to his residence as early as 3 a.m. and asked for assistance.
But Butuan City Police Director Senior Supt. Ramon Espiritu blamed Joel for not reporting directly to the San Mateo Police Detachment headed by Sen. Insp. Henry Paclar.
Espiritu said he already ordered his men to investigate the incident.
Later, NPA spokesperson Ka Cesar Reinerio, of Front 4-A Northeastern Mindanao Command of the Hukbong Bayan CPP-NPA, clamed that since the massacre incident was near a Cafgu-Army detachment, the detachment should be investigated.
The NPA spokesperson admitted the area falls under the Front 4-A Northeastern Mindanao Command of the Hukbong Bayan CPP-NPA. (Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro/Sunnex)
(January 30, 2006 issue)
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