Map shows location of Talaingod in Davao del Norte
Reports reaching Manila indicated that a member of the Alamara paramilitary group is threatening the lives of 31 delegates of a medical mission to Sitio Nasilaban, Barangay Palma Gil, at the municipality of Talaingod in Davao del Norte.
The tension is reportedly preventing the team from returning Sunday to Davao City.
According to Rius Valle, the convenor of the medical mission under Save Our Schools Network-Southern Mindanao Region, the team was supposed to be heading home at midday after a four-day medical outreach activity.
There were originally 83 participants, including some hailing from Manila, as well as students and professors from University of the Philippines Mindanao, who were there to conduct analysis of water and fecal samples to figure out the reason for an epidemic in Talaingod.
Valle told InterAksyon in a telephone interview that the outbreak had already killed 27 indigenous people since November last year.
Some of the delegates had successfully made their way home Saturday.
Those who were left were supposed to leave on Sunday, but, at around 1:00 p.m., they were advised by their hired motorcycle drivers that it would not be possible for them to be picked up.
Valle said that the drivers were stopped about an hour away from Sitio Nasilaban by the supposed member of Alamara, who allegedly warned the drivers: "Ayaw ninyu i-angkas tung mga bisita nga nahibilin sa Nasilaban, aron di mo madamay (Do not fetch the visitors if you don't want to get mixed up)."
Valle said they then asked the tribal leaders of the community why the delegates' journey home was being blocked by the alleged member of the Alamara.
They found out that the man supposedly wanted to kill one of the members of the medical mission in retaliation for the death of his sibling, who supposedly died at the hands of the New People's Army last year.
The man was also allegedly responsible for the death of a lumad student in Talaingod.
Valle said they have already contacted members of the local government of Talaingod, as they had met the mayor during a courtesy call on their first day in the municipality.
Valle reported they were told that people would be sent from the poblacion (town center) to fetch and escort them out of Sitio Nasilaban, but since communication coverage was poor in the area, they were still awaiting confirmation that someone was, indeed, on the way to fetch them.
Travel time from Sitio Nasilaban to the poblacion is approximately two hours, Valle said. He added that the delegates did not want to risk heading home when night falls, so would likely spend the night in Sitio Nasilaban.
On Monday morning, if help had not yet arrived, they would seek help from the rest of their network.
They also received information that the 68th Infantry Battalion was encamped at a sitio about an hour away, and they were afraid that they might get caught in the crossfire if an armed encounter break outs between government security forces and insurgents in the area.
Valle added that they were also scared of being accused as rebels.
Nevertheless, the community assured that the local residents would defend them if things get awry, Valle said.
Still, Save Our Schools Network said in a news alert, "We are calling for help and intervention."
http://interaksyon.com/article/137030/cry-of-help--alamara-paramilitary-in-reported-threat-against-medical-mission-in-talaingod
The Talaingod area has been hotly contested by military and NPA forces. A number of violent incidents have occurred in the area over the past year.
ReplyDeleteThe NPA appears to maintain a robust presence in the area as evidenced by the activities of known Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) front organizations such as the Save Our Schools Network (SOS).
SOS has help operate several schools in the area that have engaged in anti-government/pro-CPP indoctrination of lumad students. Some in the military have gone so far as to characterize these educational facilities as "NPA schools."