CHR-10 to probe rights violations in Mis Or village

THE Commission on Human Rights-10 (CHR10) said it will investigate the complaint of two civilians who were accused as Communist rebels by state agents in the wake of the massive evacuation of residents in hinterland villages in Opol town, Misamis Oriental, due to the reported presence of hundreds of alleged New People’s Army (NPA) fighters.

“We have already docketed the case and had their (complainants) sworn statement taken,” said Jeanne Ivy Abrina, CHR10 regional director, in an interview on Monday.

CHR-10 identified the civilians as Roy Ebarat and Julieto Babatido, residents of Barangay Tingalan, in Opol, who sought the help of the agency in filing complaint against members of the security forces whom they accused of entering the homes of their neighbors without search warrant and alleging that they are members of the NPA.

The complaint stemmed from the displacement of hundreds of residents from the villages of Nangcaon, Tingalan, and Limonda following the sighting of armed individuals believed to be NPA guerrillas.

Abrina said they will look into the complaint of Ebarat and Babatido and endorse their findings to appropriate government agencies.

“We will investigate this

because this in not only in relation to our mandate but also with the continuous monitoring of martial law-related human rights violations,” she said.

She said the complainants are “presumed to be civilians and they are entitled to protection under the international humanitarian law in an armed conflict context and they will only lose their civilian protection if they [have direct participation] in the hostilities,” she added.

Ebarat and Babatido went to the CHR-10 office on Monday, August 14, with “Anna” (not her real name), who witnessed the alleged intrusion of government soldiers into the home of Sunny Payla, Ebarat’s father-in-law, in Sitio Lagundang, Tingalan, on Saturday afternoon, August 12.

Anna said about eight soldiers were at the front and rear doors of Payla’s house and asking for Ebarat’s and Babatido’s whereabouts.

“They (soldiers) also asked if the supply has already arrived and where the firearms were hidden. We had no idea what they were talking about,” she recalled.

She said Payla’s house was surrounded by troops and she saw more soldiers and two army trucks on the road.

After a few minutes, she said they soldiers left on board the military vehicles.

Ebarat said at the time of the search, he and Babatido were at the Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI) church in Barangay Bulua attending a meeting with Pangalasag, an indigenous people’s (IP) group.

He said they were on their way home when they received a text message from his parents-in-law that the military were looking for them. Incidentally, they also met the army trucks on the road.

“We fear of being arrested for no reason, so we left our motorcycle at the house of our association president and walked home. Thinking that there were still some soldiers waiting for us on the road, we hiked through the palm oil plantation,” Ebarat said.

He said he and Babatido arrived in their respective homes at around midnight but they could not sleep for fear the soldiers would come for them when they are in deep slumber.

“As of now, we fear for our security. We are asking the CHR to protect us and our rights as civilians,” Ebarat said, adding that they are mere peasants in Tingalan and are not members of the NPA.

Meanwhile, the Kalumbay Regional Lumad Organization has condemned the action of the military and accused soldiers who search Payla’s house as those of the Philippine Army’s 58th Infantry Battalion, a unit of the 4th Infantry Division.

Datu Jomorito Goaynon, Kalumbay regional chairperson, said they believe that the incident was related to the struggle of the Pangalasag who is fighting for their ancestral domain which is now under threat due to the alleged incursion of a private company, which owns palm oil plantation in the area.

Goaynon said they are dismayed by the wrongful accusation of ordinary civilians as NPA members as it expressed disappointment over the declaration of President Rodrigo Duterte of martial law in Mindanao.

“Because of this (martial law), human rights abuses against lumad (native peoples) and peasants have worsened,” he said.