On February 28, 2021, Barangay Captain Julie Catamin who challenged the baseless red tagging of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the military was shot dead. Catamin is a member of the indigenous Tumandok community. He was among the first to expose that the four people arrested in his village on December 30 were innocent and that the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) indeed planted the weapons and ammunition discovered in the victims’ homes. Prior to his death, Catamin was summoned by the military on February 25 to inform him that they were aware that the members of his community are seeking assistance from people’s organizations including Bayan Muna lawyers.[1] He said the military threatened them with the same fate as the December 30 victims.
On December 30, 2020, at early dawn, the Philippine Army, PNP and CIDG conducted a joint operation in nine villages of the indigenous Tumandok in Panay Island in Western Visayas in the south of the Philippines. It resulted to nine members of the Tumandok killed and 16 arrested.
The police alleged that those killed were members of the New People’s Army (NPA), and that they fought back as operatives served search warrants for illegal possession of firearms and explosives. NPA is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). CPP-NPA has been designated as “foreign terrorist organization” by the US government and the EU.
In a statement issued a day after the killings, the Police Regional Office-Western said the operation was carried out based on information gathered from locals about the presence of people with high-powered firearms. It was intended to "curb the proliferation of firearms and explosives" in Panay Island. In a separate statement, the Legal Cooperation Cluster Chairperson stated that the police operations are directed at the CPP-NPA, who are said to have infiltrated Panay Island's provinces. It was mentioned that the killings and deaths carried out as part of the police operation had put an end to what he refers to as the "CPP-reign NPA's of terror" in the province.
But relatives of the victims said that those who died did not resist arrest and that the firearms and explosives found in their residences were set up, [2] which is common to similar many anti-insurgency operations the police and the military. It is locally known as “tanim bala,” which translates to “planting bullets.”
One of the victims, Eliseo Gayas, Jr., was gagged with tape and shot four times inside their home after asking members of his family to leave their house. Two others, Mario Aguirre and Roy Giganto, were shot dead while they were sleeping.
The nine who were killed were recognized leaders in their respective barangays (village). They were civilians and not armed combatants.
Some of the 16 arrested were charged with violating either R.A. 10591, known as “Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act,” or R.A. 9516, an act amending the provisions of P.D. 1866,[3] known as “Codifying the laws on illegal/unlawful possession, manufacture, dealing in, acquisition or disposition, of firearms, ammunition or explosives or instruments used in manufacture of firearms, ammunition or explosives, and imposing stiffer penalties for certain violations thereof and for relevant purposes.”[4] Others were charged with violating both.
As of November 25, 2021, only one person is still imprisoned, Rodolfo Diaz of Calinog, Iloilo. Six of the 16 arrested were acquitted while the nine were released after pleading guilty and obtaining probation.
The Tumandok, which is estimated to have a population of around 17,000, have been consistently opposing militarization in their area. They have long been advocating for the protection of their fundamental rights and land rights. They have been active in openly resisting the construction of Jalaur River Multi-Purpose Project, a USD 200 million project funded by the Republic of Korea's Export-Import Bank (EximBank). International partners and other support groups have submitted an appeal to defund the Jalaur River Multi-Purpose Project Stage II (JRMP II).[5]
The Jalaur Mega-dam threatens to submerge the Tumandok’s ancestral land, including their burial grounds and sacred sites. The persistent opposition of the Tumandok, along with their allies, against the mega-dam suspended its operation, but has also resulted to one of the most heinous massacres against Indigenous Peoples.[6] Their activism and work in defending their human rights were used by the police and military to tag them as members and supporters of the CPP-NPA.
Earlier before the killings and arrest, in November 2020, some members of the Tumandok from two villages sought help from the Commission on Human Rights due to threats from the military and PNP. The military and PNP were forcing them to sign documents supposedly to "surrender" and "clear their names" as assurance that they are not members of the CPP-NPA. They refused to sign the documents since they are not members or supporters of the CPP-NPA. Threats against them mounted, with soldiers saying they could be charged under the Anti-Terrorism Act and warned them for more stringent operation.
The indigenous Tumandok are aware that their justice from the massacre and the protection of their fundamental and land rights will be difficult and ongoing. They remain hopeful but vigilant. On March 3, 2021, Atty. Angelo Karlo Guillen, Tumandok lawyer and petitioner against the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, was stabbed by unidentified persons.[7]
-----
[1] Panay Today. “LATEST UPDATE AS OF 10:55AM: Punong Barangay Julie Catamin of Brgy. Roosevelt, Tapaz, Capiz was shot dead by a riding-in-tandem in Brgy. Malitbog, Calinog, Iloilo earlier this morning”. Retrieved from: https://www.facebook.com/panaytoday/posts/3889603224431120
[2] The Communicator. “COMMUNITY | Groups demand justice for the killing of 9 red-tagged Tumandok IP’s in Panay Island”. Retrieved from: https://www.facebook.com/COCDakom/posts/10159177752226804?_rdc=1&_rdr
[3] https://lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra2008/ra_9516_2008.html
[4] https://lawphil.net/statutes/presdecs/pd1983/pd_1866_1983.html
[5] “COMMENTS TO THE RESPONSE OF THE EDCF-KOREA EXIMBANK TO THE LETTER OF MS. ANA ZBONA AND MS. CHRISTEN DOBSON OF BUSINESS & HUMAN RIGHTS RESOURCE CENTER” Retrieved from: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EPZiohtMmoglPUqwQAP-yGn-eZjushQN/edit
[6] Asian NGO Coalition for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development. "Defund the Jalaur Dam Project''. Retrieved from: https://angoc.org/news/defund-the-jalaur-dam-project/
[7] Philstar Global. “Tumandok land defenders' lawyer stabbed in Iloilo”. Retrieved from: https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2021/03/04/2081926/tumandok-land-defenders-lawyer-stabbed-ilolilo
%2020.49.20.png)
