Senate to probe Lumad killings in E. Mindanao

The Senate, through one of its committees, will go to a mountainous area in Eastern Mindanao populated by indigenous tribes on October 1 to investigate the killing of three tribal leaders allegedly by a paramilitary group last September 1.

This came after Senate President Franklin M. Drilon assigned the task of investigating this and other cases of harassment against indigenous peoples (IPs) to the Senate Justice and Human Rights Committee, chaired by Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III.

Pimentel told the Manila Bulletin that he is now in the process of conferring with Sen. Teofisto Guingona III, chairman of the Senate peace, unification and reconciliation committee, on the mechanics and requirements needed to conduct the probe at the site of incident.

Guingona, in a recent privilege speech, lashed out at a paramilitary group, identified as “Magahat/Bagani para-military forces,” that allegedly executed three tribal leaders in a remote village in sitio Han-ayan, Lianga, Surigao del Sur last Sept. 1.

This developed as the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) stated that the Philippine government has not invited United Nations envoys to visit the Philippines despite a request from a human rights group that they look into allegations that Lumad (tribal) leaders are being killed by a paramilitary group working for the Philippine Army in Mindanao.

Karapatan, a human rights group, had sent a request to the United Nation (UN) special rapporteurs to investigate the lumad killings and urged the Aquino administration to allow the envoys to visit the country.

After being confirmed by the bicameral Commission on Appointments (CA) last week as the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of staff and as a fourstar general, Hernando Iriberri, said he has been told that there were no military or para-military forces involved in the killing of the Lumad leaders.

The Senate Rules Committee, chaired by Sen. Alan Peter S. Cayetano, decided that the Pimentel committee that should conduct the investigation.

Guingona, a native of northern Mindanao, had stood up on the Senate floor last September 14 and lashed at the para-military known as the “Magahat/Bagani paramilitary forces” for allegedly being behind the killing and dispossession of the tribe members of their ancestral lands.

Drilon tasked the Cayetano committee to select which Senate committee will investigate the incident after Sen. Loren Legarda, chairwoman of the Senate Cultural Communities Committee, stood up to ask details of Guingona’s speech in last Monday’s regular session that she was about to conduct a public hearing on the incident.