CPP/Ang Bayan: Military attacks Negros subvillage

From the December 21 edition of Ang Bayan: Military attacks Negros subvillage

Military troops attacked a sitio (sub-village) in Negros Occidental, strafing houses and illegally detaining its residents on December 13. According to the results of a fact-finding mission by KARAPATAN, soldiers from the 11th IB Alpha Coy arrived at 7:30 a.m. in Sitio Mahopaho in Barangay San Agustin, Isabela, Negros Occidental, which is home to 91 families belonging to the Maghat minority group. The soldiers rained bullets on their houses and forcibly entered them. They then herded all the residents and detained them at the tribal hall. The raiding soldiers were led by 1Lt. Ryan Von Gomez.

After hours of being held inside the tribal hall, 19 of the residents were arbitrarily arrested by the military and brought to the Isabela Municipal Police Station because an encounter between the NPA and another group of soldiers occurred near the sub-village. Two soldiers were killed in the clash and four others were wounded, including 1Lt. Shannon Pamitan.The military accused the residents of involvement in the encounter, even if they were detained at the tribal hall when the fighting took place.

Of the 19 residents detained at the Isabela Police Station, three were minors. Eleven of the detainees were released on December 17 but the others are still in jail. Meanwhile, six residents of Barangay Runruno, Quezon, Nueva Vizcaya were injured when they blocked bulldozers escorted by policemen on December 12. Several residents were buried waist-deep in soil when they were bulldozed and truncheoned by the police who were conducting clearing operations for the gold-molybdenum project of the Australian-owned FCF Minerals, Inc.

http://www.philippinerevolution.net/publications/ang_bayan/20121221/military-attacks-negros-subvillage