A human rights watchdog and farmer’s group condemned the arrests and killings of indigenous people from the Tumandok community on Panay Island.
“These killings and arrests are meant to instill fear upon indigenous communities in order to silence their opposition to so-called development projects that encroach upon their ancestral domains and right to self-determination,” Karapatan Secretary General Cristina Palabay said, referring to the construction of the Jalaur Mega Dam project, which the Tumandok IPs have opposed.
Karapatan called on the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to investigate on the killings of the nine IPs and arrests of 17 others in simultaneous police-military operations last Dec. 30.
The Philippine Army 12th Infantry Battalion, Police Regional Office-Western Visayas (PRO-6), and the Crime Investigation and Detection Group Western Visayas carried out the series of raids in Tapaz, Capiz, and Calinog, Iloilo.
The suspects allegedly fought the authorities while their search warrants were being served, which was denied by Karapatan.
The group claimed the slain indigenous Tumandok people had been red-tagged and accused by the military as members and supporters of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA).
“These are not only assaults on the Tumandok but attacks on indigenous communities in the country in general – and for what, in the name of development? Must development come at the expense of the land, the rights, and the lives of our indigenous peoples?” Palabay said.
The Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) identified some of the fatalities as Eliseo Gayas Jr., Mauro Diaz, and Artilito Katipunan in Tapaz. The others were Mario Aguirre, Roy Giganto, Jomer Vidal, Dalson Catamin, Rolando Diaz, and Reynaldo Katipunan.
Contrary to authorities’ claim, KMP chair Danilo Ramos said those killed and arrested were just “farmers and indigenous people defending their ancestral land and farms against land grabbing.”