On Macapagal-Arroyo�s direct orders: Militarization intensifies in Southern Tagalog
In its rabid desire to crush the revolutionary movement, the Macapagal-Arroyo regime has chosen to launch large-scale and brutal counterrevolutionary suppression campaigns in the Southern Tagalog region. Next to Basilan, Southern Tagalog now has the biggest concentration of military troops. Up to 13 assault battalions of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and Philippine National Police (PNP) have been deployed to the region.
At present, there are two Philippine Army (PA) brigades, one task force and a task group assigned to Southern Tagalog.
The 201st Bde covers the third and fourth districts of Quezon and encompasses three battalions � the 74th, 76th and 59th IB.
Joint Task Force Banahaw (JTFB) covers the provinces of Batangas, Laguna, northern and central Quezon and Mindoro island. JTFB, which is led by the notorious fascist Col. Jovito Palparan, serves as the headquarters of the newly formed 204th Bde.
Meanwhile, the 204th Bde covers the islands of Mindoro and Romblon. Macapagal-Arroyo personally gave her all-out support for the large-scale military operations in Mindoro when she visited the island on October 1. Mindoro Oriental now has the biggest deployment of military forces in the region, with up to seven battalions of the Philippine Army�s infantry and special forces � the 16th IB which has recently been pulled out of Mindanao; the 68th IB which came from Pangasinan; the 3rd Scout Ranger Battalion which has two companies (2nd SRC and 18th SRC); the 3rd Special Forces Battalion which has two companies (34th SFC and 22nd SFC); the 6th SFC of the 4th Special Forces Battalion and the newly arrived 52nd RECON Company; as well as a company from the 56th IB pulled out from Northern Luzon. Naval Task Force 31 has also been placed under the command of the 204th Bde to provide naval and artillery support for ground assault troops.
In addition, the 3rd SAF Battalion of the PNP is in Mindoro Oriental while the battalion-size Regional Mobile Group is assigned to Mindoro Occidental. Two Philippine Marine battalions have also been deployed to Palawan.
Also recently formed was Task Force Rizaldo under the command of the infamously brutal Col. Efren Orbon of the 1st IB. Under it are three companies from the PA Special Operations Command (SOCOM). Task Group Rizaldo�s function is to secure important installations in the region such as the Malampaya Gas Pipeline in Palawan and the Hopewell Coal-Fired Power Plant in Pagbilao, Quezon.
The heavy concentration of reactionary troops and the relentless military operations in Southern Tagalog have resulted in continued violations of human rights. In terms of number and brutality, violations under the Macapagal-Arroyo regime have definitely surpassed those of the deposed Estrada regime.
Within the first eight months of Macapagal-Arroyo�s administration, 95 cases of violations of human rights and international humanitarian law by Task Force Banahaw and troops of the 201st and 204th Bde have already been documented. Overall, 279 individuals from 24 families and 20 communities were victimized in 63 incidents (see table).
But the depth and breadth of the devastation and fear wrought by military terror in Southern Tagalog go beyond this. Death and disease have led to far more casualties among Mangyan children and infants due to epidemics resulting from a food blockade, relocations and evacuations enforced by Task Force Banahaw and the 204th Bde in the interior villages of Oriental Mindoro, as well as by the absence of medical services from the reactionary government.
Hundreds of internal refugees have also trooped to town centers in Mindoro to escape the largescale military terror being sown in the island. In Metro Manila, there are now 73 internal refugees, including seven families, 13 women and 15 children.
Even human rights advocates have been victimized by the regime. On November 1, PNP elements harassed and forcibly dispersed 12 members of Task Force Tanggol Karapatan (TFTK) who were conducting a simple program at the North Cemetery in Metro Manila to inform the people about the intense militarization in Southern Tagalog and gather support. TFTK is composed of Kalipunan ng Samahang Magbubukid ng Timog Katagalugan, Karapatan-TK, Bigkis at Lakas ng Katutubo sa Timog Katagalugan and BAYAN-TK.
It is the regime that is responsible for all this - a regime that unbridledly tramples on the people�s rights in its desire to stamp out the revolutionary movement. The people must become even more resolute in their resistance to the terrorism being sown by the Macapagal-Arroyo regime and its military forces in the region.
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