AFP goes on alert vs more NPA attacks on Lumads
CAMP BANCASI, Butuan City – Barely has the family of slain Loreto, Agusan del Sur Mayor Dario Otaza and his son buried their kin that the military received reports of renewed attacks being planned by the New People’s Army against villages of indigenous peoples (IPs) or Lumads here, according to the reports from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
Troops of the AFP’s Northeastern and Northern Mindanao Fourth Infantry Division (4th ID) have reportedly been put on alert as declassified intelligence reports showed that the NPA, which had claimed responsibility for the execution-style murder of Otaza and his son Daryl last month, was already planning another wave of attack against Lumad communities in the province.
This developed just after Otaza and his son were finally laid to rest Wednesday amid grief and indignation at the Uraya Memorial Park in Bancasi, 12 kilometers northwest of this city.
“Everyone viewed him (Otaza) as a man of compassion and have a strong political will. Otaza marched his people towards his vision of peace and development,” Otaza’s wife Ligaya said during the eulogy for the slain mayor.
“To my son Daryl, though it is hard to accept, we will miss you. Thank you for taking good care of your siblings. I know God has a reason why this thing happens,” Ligaya stammered as she conveyed her final message for Daryl.
But the burial may have just been a temporary lull in the violence in the province.
Maj. Gen. Oscar T. Lactao, commanding general of the 4th ID ordered field commanders of the 401st Infantry Brigade based in Surigao, said the 402nd Infantry Brigade based in Agusan and 403rd Infantry Brigade based in Bukidnon, to secure Lumads from any plans of harassment by any lawless group.
The military top area commander also ordered field unit commanders of various intelligence group to “redouble their effort” in an objective to avert any plan of the NPAs.
Col. Jesse Alvarez, commander of the 403rd Brigade, revealed that field units have been placed on alert after they received reports that suspected NPA rebels allegedly planned to burn a school for members of a lumad tribe in Bukidnon.
Regional spokesman of the 4th ID Capt. Joe Patrick A. Martinez, said Lumad tribesmen and village officials in Barangay White Kulaman, Kitaotao town shut down early this week the MISFI School as a precautionary measure.
“Our soldiers are closely watching developments on the ground,” he said.