50th IB and 52nd Recon Coy Continue to Terrorize TuboApril 7, 2008
The Agustin Begnalen Command (NPA-Abra) condemns in the strongest possible terms the continuing violence and terrorism inflicted by troops of the 50th IB and 52nd Recon Coy on the people of Tubo, Abra. Particular victims of the ongoing military operation are the indigenous communities of Pananuman, Tubtuba, Beew, Alangtin, and Dilong, all in Tubo, and the nearby community of Lamag in Quirino, Ilocos Sur. Worst affected in the military operation which has been going on for more than a month already are the communities of Pananuman and Tubtuba which are now under virtual martial rule.
Since arriving in Pananuman on March 12, the military troops turned the community into a garrison. They forcibly occupied the elementary school buildings, barangay hall, church, and village dap-ay (traditional council house). They set up their 60 mm and 81 mm mortars and a 105 mm howitzer cannon right within the residential area and turned the school ground into a helipad. Heavy artillery bombing continues to be launched from within the residential area of Pananuman. Since March 25, more than 95 mortar and howitzer cannon shells have been fired day and night. The people of Pananuman, Tubtuba and nearby communities could not sleep at night due to the continuous bombing.
After conducting a population census, the military has put every citizen under constant surveillance. The villagers were accused as NPA supporters. The military troops conducted illegal searches in all households and confiscated several people's properties they claimed to belong to the NPA. These included some hunting rifles, VHF radio handsets, cellphones, and even clothing.
The VHF radios in Pananuman and Tubtuba have long been used for daily and emergency communications with other barangays and towns. The military confiscated these on suspicion that the people might use the radios for transmitting information to the NPA regarding the location and movement of the operating troops.
No one could leave the community without permission. For more than a month, the military prohibited the people from going to their swidden farms, ricefields, pasture lands, and forested areas. The people's agricultural activities have been disrupted and severely affected. Swidden farms and ricefields continue to be left unattended and grazing animals could not be tended. Even the community waterworks system that has been damaged could not be fixed because the people are not allowed to do so. Clearly, the militarization of Tubo has resulted in serious economic losses that has only worsened the already impoverished state of the peasant masses.
The military troops and threatened that if ever the military were to encounter the NPA within the peripheries of Pananuman, they will declare the area as a "no man's land", enforce an evacuation, and bomb the community. Recently, they warned the people of Lamag that they will shoot anybody they encounter in Sakabo, a mountain ridge and swidden area between Pananuman and Lamag.
As the military operation continues in the Ampis triboundary of Tubo, Abra; Besao, Mountain Province, and Quirino, Ilocos Sur, human rights violations also continue to pile up and worsen. Mariano Galisen, a 60 year old farmer from Tubtuba, has been missing since April 1 after he attempted to visit his swidden farm. His decomposing body was found only recently in the forest. The people of Tubtuba strongly suspect that he was shot dead by the operating troops when they occupied his farm.
The troops led by 1Lt John Pedrigosa and 2nd Lt Rashid Abdul Avila forced civilians to be used as guides and cargadores. Last March 26, they commandeered 27 civilians from Pananuman and Tubtuba to fetch the remains of a soldier who was killed in an encounter with the NPA two days earlier in Ampungan, a swidden and pasture area several hours hike from Pananuman. After fetching the body and the civilians were about to leave Ampungan, more than 50 soldiers who were out on patrol suddenly showed up and joined them on their return to Pananuman. Obviously, the soldiers who were out on patrol used the civilians as human shields for fear of being ambushed by the NPA on their way back to the village.
The continuous bombing, strafing and mortar shelling of the mountains and forested area along the boundary of Tubo and Besao and nearby communities have traumatized the villagers, especially the children, women, and elderly. Daily from March 23 to 28, two OV-10 bomber planes continuously dropped 125- and 250-pound bombs and strafed the area. In over six days, 117 bombs were dropped by these bomber planes. Two F5 fighter jets also accompanied the bomber planes last March 28.
Contrary to the 50th IB's persistent propaganda that their purpose is to "bring back peace" in Tubo, the operating troops have only brought more suffering and misery upon the people and worsened the already dire situation in the area. As clear proof that these fascist troops do not serve the interest of the people, the 50th IB and 503rd Brigade arrogantly rejected the resolution of the people and municipal officials of Tubo requesting an end to the combat operations and bombings. In utter disregard of the people's clamor for peace, the military asserted that the combat operations and bombings were necessary to drive away the NPA and pave the way for development projects such as large scale mining. By its own declarations, the military has unwittingly revealed whose interests it truly upholds and serves – that of big corporate mining firms that have long been coveting the gold and other mineral reserves in the Ampis area. The national minority communities of Ampis know too well that large scale mining, like the ongoing militarization of the area, will only bring catastrophe instead of progress. The people have learned this from the unfortunate experiences of their neighbors in Benguet and the communities along the Abra River who continue to suffer from Lepanto's pollution.
We call on the people of Tubo and the entire Ampis area to expose, condemn, and oppose the military's terrorist activities. The people should assert their rights and demand justice and indemnification for the abuses committed by the military. The NPA is one with the people of Tubo and the entire Ampis area in their legitimate demands and assertion of their rights as national minorities to protect their ancestral lands against corporate mining and as civilians against the accompanying terrorism inflicted by the military.
Since March 21, the casualties of the 50th IB and 52nd Recon Coy has already reached 13 (10 killed in action and at least 3 wounded) from successive engagements with the NPA along the boundary of Tubo and Besao. Three died in an ambush last March 21. One died in an encounter last March 24. Two were killed while another was wounded in an ambush last March 25. The pilot of a Huey helicopter was also wounded last March 25. In the latest battle on April 5, four troopers of the 52nd Recon Coy were killed and at least one was wounded.
Neither the enemy's massive operating troops nor its superior weapons such as mortars and cannons, OV-10 bomber planes, Huey helicopters and F5 fighter jets can deter the NPA from achieving more military victories. The operating troops will pay dearly for their incursions and crimes against the people. To attain revolutionary justice, the NPA in South Abra will continue to launch punitive actions against the US-Arroyo regime's mercenary troops. #
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