From the Manila Bulletin (Nov 9): 68th IB in hot water for harassment in Davao town
Members of the House of Representatives, belonging to the so-called Makabayan block, have recently passed a resolution calling for the Committee on Human Rights of the House to investigate the continuing militarization in Talaingod town in Davao del Norte.
In House Resolution No. 1639, representatives Emmi de Jesus and Luzviminda Ilagan of Gabriela, Fernando Hicap of AnakPawis, Neri Colmenares and Carlos Isagani Zarate of Bayan Muna, James Mark Terry Ridon of Kabataan and Antonio Tinio of ACT-Teachers directed the committee to “conduct an on-site investigation in aid of legislation on the recent militarization, harassments and attack on schools and communities in Talaingod.”
The attacks, the resolution said, were perpetrated by the members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), particularly the 68th Infantry Battalion (IB).
The Makabayan solons said that parents and teachers at the Salugpongan Ta’ Tanu Igkanogon Community Learning Center (STTICLC) were frequently harassed by elements of the 68th IB with the latest incident recorded just last month.
STTICLC has 11 learning sites, nine primary/elementary schools and two high schools that are serving the Manobo children for the last eight years in various communities in Talaingod.
The harassments, the resolution added, have reportedly been committed since 2007 and have been escalating in both intensity and in frequency.
Last month, it added, the STTICLC School in Sitio Laslasakan, Palma Gil in Talaingod was ransacked and vandalized by the same army unit along with its paramilitary group called the Alamara.
http://www.mb.com.ph/68th-ib-in-hot-water-for-harassment-in-davao-town/
The "MAKABAYAN block" is a coalition of some eight Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP)-linked party-list political parties. Emmi de Jesus and Luzviminda Ilagan of Gabriela, Fernando Hicap of AnakPawis, Neri Colmenares and Carlos Isagani Zarate of Bayan Muna, James Mark Terry Ridon of Kabataan and Antonio Tinio of ACT-Teachers, the congressional representatives/political parties behind the anti-military House Resolution No. 1639, are all CPP political fronts and members of the MAKABAYAN coalition.
ReplyDeleteThe propagation of the resolution demonstrates the ability of the CPP to coordinate its anti-government/military propaganda campaigns across its various sectoral and political front organizations.
The overarching objective of all this propaganda activity is to discredit the Philippine military and exert political pressure for the removal of military units from Talaingod town in Davao del Norte province.
The Talaingod area has been hotly contested between the Philippine military and the New People's Army, the military wing of the CPP, and this propaganda effort clearly demonstrates how CPP front groups carry out activities that support NPA insurgents in the field.