From the families of slain rebels to Lacub folk

From the often pro-CPP online publication Northern Dispatch Weekly (NORDIS) (Jan 1):  From the families of slain rebels to Lacub folk

LACUB, Abra — It was not just another a medical mission. To the families of the New People’s Army (NPA) rebels killed in the military operation of the 41st IB of the Philippine Army in September of 2014, it was their way of honoring their rebel kin.

SERVE THE PEOPLE. Dr. Melindres Jaramillo-Lim, sister of Arnold “Ka Mando” Jaramillo, a New People’s Army rebel killed in 2014 joined a medical mission in Lacub, Abra where her brother spent his last years. Photo by Divine Loraine Peñaflor

Dr. Melindres Jaramillo, sister of Arnold “Ka Mando” Jaramillo an NPA rebel killed in a military operation in Guinguinabang, Lacub in September of 2014, just wanted to visit Lacub to see the place and meet the people her brother has spent most of the last 14 years of his life with.

Dr. Jaramillo said she wanted to visit Lacub to thank the people for welcoming Ka Mando into their community. “It so surreal, to meet the people whom my brother spent his last years with,” she said.

She said that people young and old, men and women came to her to tell her about their encounters with Ka Mando. “They have nothing but good words for my brother, they all said that he was a good man and it made me proud,” she said.

“I actually came home for the 30 year reunion of my medical school batch and asked my sister in law if we could visit Lacub, it just so happened that there is a medical mission,” she said.

Dr. Jaramillo said their visit to Lacub became more meaningful with the medical mission. She said providing free medical check up is nothing compared to the sacrifices of her brother.

“We may have not gone to the mountains like him, but we could also serve the people in our own little way,” she said.

According to Cynthia Jaramillo, the wife of Ka Mando, the medical mission held at Poblacion, Lacub, Abra last December 17 to 18 was organized by non-government organizations in coordination with the local government as part of the Justice for Lacub campaign.

She said that families of the seven NPA rebels and two civilians killed during a military operation in Guinguinabang, Lacub in September of 2014 continue to seek justice for their kin. She said that the remains of their kin bore signs of torture and were desecrated by operating government troops.

Dr. Jaramillo said she saw the autopsy report of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on the bodies of the NPA rebels and civilians killed in the Guinguinabang military operation. “The photos alone showed broken skulls and limbs, and the only explanation I could think of is that it was an act of rage or maybe the perpetrators were under the influence of drugs because nobody in their right mind could do such an inhumane act,” she said.

“My brother’s body including all of his fingers were riddled with bullets, his jawbone broken and rammed into his throat, Recca another rebel had broken limbs and the top of her head blown off, how could somebody in his right mind do these to a fellow human being?” she reiterated.

Jang Monte, the sister of Recca Noel Monte killed with Ka Mando, also joined the medical mission. Together with Gabriela Women’s Partylist Representative Arlene Brosas, they facilitated a children’s workshop while the medical check up was ongoing.

“I would like to thank the people of Lacub for ensuring that the mutilated bodies of our loved ones would reach us amid the threat to their safety and lives,” she said.

Monte reiterated that according to the autopsy report of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Recca did not sustain a single gunshot but her limbs were broken and the top of her head blown off.

“What happened to my sister is unacceptable because even wars have rules but we were able to draw strength from the people of Lacub’s continuing defiance amid injustice and impunity,” she said.

Kennedy Bangibang, consultant of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) for Cordillera and National Minority Affairs, also thanked the people of Lacud for their help in retrieving the body of his wife Recca.

“There is no better way to honor them than to remember the lessons they have imparted with us when they were alive. Do not let their death discourage us but rather let us see it as a challenge to advance our quest for just and lasting peace,” Bangibang said.

http://www.nordis.net/2017/01/from-the-families-of-slain-rebels-to-lacub-folk/