Probe on deadly Capiz, Iloilo raids

By Francis Allan L. Angelo

 

The Commission on Human Rights will investigate the deadly raids in Capiz and Iloilo provinces mounted by state forces against several personalities, including barangay officials, who were tagged as insurgents or rebel supporters.

CHR 6 Director Jonnie Dabuco said that while they do not question the raid on 28 individuals in Tapaz, Capiz and Calinog, Iloilo, the investigation will dig deeper into what happened that led to the deaths of nine persons.

Dabuco said allegations of evidence planting and summary execution from the families of the fatalities and the subjects of the raids prompted the probe.

Cause-oriented groups slammed the raids saying the subjects were not rebels but Tumandoks, an indigenous people’s group in Central Panay.

The fatalities were Roy Giganto, Reynaldo Katipunan, Mario Aguirre, Maurito Diaz Sr., Eliseo Gayas Jr., Artilito Katipunan, Jomar Vidal, Garson Catamin, and Rolando Diaz Sr.

In a statement, the Promotion of Church Peoples’ Response slammed the raids as “brazen extra-judicial killings and illegal arrests of leaders of the Tumandok.”

PCPR said the raids were “part of the nationwide implementation of PNP Chief Sinas’ version of ‘political tokhang’, his brainchild Synchronized Enhanced Management of Police Operations (SEMPO).

 

“First implemented in Negros, also known as ‘Oplan Sauron’, this scheme ‘weaponizes’ the law, implements extra-judicial killings (EJK) and illegal arrests of red-tagged organizations and personalities to terrorize dissenters,” the statement added.

 

PCPR said Tumandok leaders were very active in “reclaiming their ancestral land now occupied by the 3rd Infantry Division, Philippine Army military reservation.”

 

“They were also active in resisting the construction of the Jalaur mega-dam. Brgay. Lahug, Tapaz resisted the coercion of military troopers to sign a resolution declaring the CPP/NPA as ‘persona non grata’ in their barangay.”

 

The group also tagged former activist-turned-military consultant Jeffrey Celis to the incident.

 

“On December 11, 2020 ‘Peace Forum’ of the NTF-ELCAC (National Task Force to End Local Armed Conflict), Jeffrey Celis a.k.a. ‘Ka Eric’ alleged that the TUMANDUK is a front organization and a recruiter of the CPP/NPA. Like ‘Oplan Sauron’ in Negros, SEMPO Panay version of the PNP got all of their search warrants from an NCR RTC Judge, sent NCR troops to ‘serve’ these search warrants. Blood is on the hands of NTF-ELCAC red-taggers, especially Jeffrey Celis, who according to reliable source, petitioned for the said warrants.  The cleric-fascist collaborators of the NTF-ELCAC should rethink their position – because red-tagging kills. They conduct anti-communist seminars alleging progressive organizations and personalities as members or recruiters of CPP and NPA.  They provide ideological justification for the military to launch extra-judicial killings and illegal arrests of activists and dissenters.”

 

In another statement, Youth Act Now Against Tyranny Panay said the fatalities were “tumandoks were community organizers who strongly opposed the construction of the Jalaur Dam that would have devastated their ancestral lands; they were unarmed.”

 

“AFP-PNP’s claims that they were rebels undeniably proves the government armed forces’ pattern of legitimizing EJKs by red-tagging, just as they legitimized EJKs by drug-tagging,” it added.