From the Philippine News Agency (Oct 7, 2020): NPA killings of IPs in Surigao Sur violate IHL: NCIP exec (By Alexander Lopez)
Google map Surigao del Sur.
Authorities are now working to bring to the international arena the series of indigenous people (IP) killings perpetrated by the communist New People’s Army (NPA) in Surigao del Sur.
NCIP said the ambush-slaying of Hawudon Jumar Bucales, the Indigenous People Mandatory Representative (IPMR) of Lianga town, is the latest in the spate of killings among members of the Manobo tribe
In a press briefing with local and military officials in Lianga town Wednesday (Oct. 7), National Commission on Indigenous People (NCIP) Chairperson Allen Capuyan said the killings constitute crimes that punishable under IHL and other international laws.
Capuyan said the NCIP will file appropriate charges against the leaders and members of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing, the NPA, in violation of the provisions of Republic Act 9851, otherwise known as the "Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide and Other Crimes Against Humanity".
“Justice must be served upon Datu Jumar Bucales and the rest of the IP leaders and members killed by the NPA rebels here in Surigao del Sur,” Capuyan said.
He said that the IPs, comprising 15 percent of the nation’s population, are occupying around 30 percent of the land area in the country which they consider as ancestral domains.
Unfortunately, he said these areas are also the targets of the NPA rebels where they regularly intimidate and harass vulnerable tribal communities.
“The government must look at what are the real happenings inside the ancestral domains. The killing of Datu Bucales and other IP leaders manifest the continuing atrocities of the NPA on the IPs in Surigao del Sur,” Capuyan said.
Bucales was killed in an ambush perpetrated by NPA rebels last October 4 in Sitio Mamparasanon, Barangay Banahao, Lianga.
In the same press briefing, Surigao del Sur Police Provincial Office (SDSPPO) director, Col. James T. Goforth, vowed to support the filing of charges for violations of RA 9851 against the CPP-NPA.
“We also filed a case for violations of RA 9851 against the NPA and their legal fronts for the killing of Datu Bernandino Astudillo this year,” Goforth said.
He said that Astudillo, a 73-year-old Manobo, the tribal chieftain of Barangay Magroyong, San Miguel, Surigao del Sur was hacked to death by the NPA last March 19, 2020.
Goforth also called on the IP communities to support the planned charges by providing the testimonies.
Strong condemnation
Meanwhile, Surigao del Sur Gov. Alexander T. Pimentel also issued a statement Wednesday strongly condemning the killing of Bucales and an IP soldier identified as PFC Ariel Guinsod Maca.
Pimentel is currently under quarantine after contracting coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) late last month.
“These cowardly acts of indiscriminate and wanton killings direct insult to our democracy and to the customs and traditions of our Indigenous Peoples,” Pimentel said.
He also described Bucales as a well-respected leader and “a true advocate of IP rights to education, quality of life, and most of all, right to a peaceful and progressive community”.
He added that Bucales and Maca were helping the government "in their own ways, especially in addressing the root causes of insurgency and educating IP communities to save them from the deceptions of the CPP-NPA".
“As the father of this province, I grieve and offer my condolences to the families of the victims,” Pimentel said, as he urged the people of Surigao del Sur to remember the contributions of Bucales and the other IP leaders in making IP communities "a better place to live".
The NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1117812
NCIP said the ambush-slaying of Hawudon Jumar Bucales, the Indigenous People Mandatory Representative (IPMR) of Lianga town, is the latest in the spate of killings among members of the Manobo tribe
In a press briefing with local and military officials in Lianga town Wednesday (Oct. 7), National Commission on Indigenous People (NCIP) Chairperson Allen Capuyan said the killings constitute crimes that punishable under IHL and other international laws.
Capuyan said the NCIP will file appropriate charges against the leaders and members of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing, the NPA, in violation of the provisions of Republic Act 9851, otherwise known as the "Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide and Other Crimes Against Humanity".
“Justice must be served upon Datu Jumar Bucales and the rest of the IP leaders and members killed by the NPA rebels here in Surigao del Sur,” Capuyan said.
He said that the IPs, comprising 15 percent of the nation’s population, are occupying around 30 percent of the land area in the country which they consider as ancestral domains.
Unfortunately, he said these areas are also the targets of the NPA rebels where they regularly intimidate and harass vulnerable tribal communities.
“The government must look at what are the real happenings inside the ancestral domains. The killing of Datu Bucales and other IP leaders manifest the continuing atrocities of the NPA on the IPs in Surigao del Sur,” Capuyan said.
Bucales was killed in an ambush perpetrated by NPA rebels last October 4 in Sitio Mamparasanon, Barangay Banahao, Lianga.
In the same press briefing, Surigao del Sur Police Provincial Office (SDSPPO) director, Col. James T. Goforth, vowed to support the filing of charges for violations of RA 9851 against the CPP-NPA.
“We also filed a case for violations of RA 9851 against the NPA and their legal fronts for the killing of Datu Bernandino Astudillo this year,” Goforth said.
He said that Astudillo, a 73-year-old Manobo, the tribal chieftain of Barangay Magroyong, San Miguel, Surigao del Sur was hacked to death by the NPA last March 19, 2020.
Goforth also called on the IP communities to support the planned charges by providing the testimonies.
Strong condemnation
Meanwhile, Surigao del Sur Gov. Alexander T. Pimentel also issued a statement Wednesday strongly condemning the killing of Bucales and an IP soldier identified as PFC Ariel Guinsod Maca.
Pimentel is currently under quarantine after contracting coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) late last month.
“These cowardly acts of indiscriminate and wanton killings direct insult to our democracy and to the customs and traditions of our Indigenous Peoples,” Pimentel said.
He also described Bucales as a well-respected leader and “a true advocate of IP rights to education, quality of life, and most of all, right to a peaceful and progressive community”.
He added that Bucales and Maca were helping the government "in their own ways, especially in addressing the root causes of insurgency and educating IP communities to save them from the deceptions of the CPP-NPA".
“As the father of this province, I grieve and offer my condolences to the families of the victims,” Pimentel said, as he urged the people of Surigao del Sur to remember the contributions of Bucales and the other IP leaders in making IP communities "a better place to live".
The NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1117812
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