Peace group to probe Lagonglong evacuation
A GROUP of peace advocates is looking into allegations that members of state forces have violated international humanitarian laws by camping out near civilian communities in a village in Misamis Oriental.
According to the residents in Sitio Camansi and Tapol, in Barangay Banglay, Lagonglong town, troops from the 58th Infantry Battalion (58IB) of the Philippine Army’s Fourth Infantry Division (4ID) entered their neighborhood and stayed there for a few days, which they claim is in violation of the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Law (CARHRIL).
Bishop Felixberto Calang, of the Iglesia Filipino Independiente (IFI) and co-convenor of the Philippine Ecumenical Peace Platform (PEPP), said they will conduct an investigation to verify the report that the 58IB has violated not just the CARHRIL but other protocols of war.
Once they finish the fact-finding, Calang said they will call the attention of the 4ID and engage them in a discussion to resolve the issue.
PEPP had been on the forefront in negotiating for the release of soldiers and police officers held captive by the NPA in the past and was one of the groups actively involved in the peace talks between the government and Maoist rebels.
Fr. Christopher Ablon, secretary-general of the human rights group Karapatan in Northern Mindanao, said they will ask the PEPP to look into the complaints of the villagers and establish a dialogue with the 4ID for the eventual pull-out of its troops from the rural communities in Camansi and Tapol and other areas where the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has established its presence in populated zones.
Ablon said PEPP should bring the residents’ concerns to the 4ID so appropriate actions could be taken by its leadership through the intervention of the Joint Monitoring Committee (JMC) under the CARHRIL which he hopes would be reactivated under the administration of President-elect Rodrigo Duterte, who promised to continue the peace talks.
International law
The international law provides the rights of persons not to be subjected to forced evacuations, food and other forms of economic blockades and indiscriminate bombings, shellings, strafing, gunfire and the use of landmines, according to the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process.
Nenita Helogon, secretary general of the tribal group Tagtabolon, said this was their fourth time to move out of their homes for fear of being caught in the crossfire between the government troops and the NPA.
At present, the 46 families or 218 individuals are staying at the Lagonglong municipal gymnasium leaving their dwellings, livestock and crops.
Helogon said their last evacuation was on June 5 after soldiers arrived in the area to reportedly conduct a census in the village, but that they were actually setting up defensive position near a school and on a hilly portion of the sitio. The residents claimed government troops brought with them mortars.
It can be recalled that the JMC has indefinitely suspended its mandated tasks due to the stalled peace negotiations between the Philippine government and the insurgents.
But if the JMC could not yet function as peace talks have yet to be revived, Ablon said the villagers can bring their complaints to an international body where they will be heard and their grievances acted upon.
Helogon said in a dialogue with Misamis Oriental Governor Yevgeny Vincente Emano and the 4ID last year, the military had committed to keeping distance from civilian population during its operations.
In a previous interview with this paper, 4ID spokesperson Captain Joe Patrick Martinez said the military “won’t abandon its duty and will answer the call of the people” especially when residents in said areas (Camansi and Tapol) had reported of “NPA atrocities” there.