A pistol, ammunition, handcuffs and other items yielded by an 'intelligence agent' caught spying on a human rights conference in Cagayan de Oro City Friday. (photo courtesy of Barug Katungod Mindanao)
Participants to a human rights conference held Friday in Cagayan de Oro said they apprehended an armed “government intelligence officer” who had sneaked into the meeting venue and was sending out information about the event through text messages.
The conference, attended by around a hundred persons, was hosted by Barug Katungod Mindanao to discuss recent attacks on human rights defenders in the south as well as atrocities committed against indigenous people by state security forces and militias, which have left several lumad dead and thousands more in evacuation camps.
A statement from Barug Katungod Mindanao (Mindanao Stand for Human Rights) said Rolando Gomonit Sr. gave himself away when he tried to pass himself off as a member of media but listed himself in the registration sheet as belonging to an organization called “Lumad.”
Members of Karapatan Northern Mindanao who the secretariat asked for assistance recognized Gomonit as the same intelligence officer they apprehended during one of their activities earlier this year.
Gomonit was armed with a .45 caliber pistol and handcuffs. His cellular phone, which contained outgoing text messages about the conference delegates, the plate numbers of their vehicles and other information was found inside the women’s restroom.
The agent was turned over to the police by the conference participants.
Barug Katungod Mindanao called the deployment of the intelligence agent to spy on the conference “a glaring example of impunity,” noting that information gathered in such operations was often used “for trumped-up charges being filed against human rights activists and (the) vilification of their organizations and activities.”
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/117429/intel-agent-caught-spying-on-cagayan-de-oro-human-rights-meet
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