An army general has denied the alleged abduction of three “Indigenous people advocates” who reportedly went missing in Bongabong, Oriental Mindoro in September.
In a virtual press conference conducted by the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) - Integrated Communications Office Center (ICOC) on Monday, Oct. 9, Philippine Army 203rd Infantry Brigade Commanding General Brig. Gen. Randolph Cabangbang said that the three individuals - Alia Encela, 19; Peter del Monte, 29; and Job David, 29 - were not abducted or a case of enforced disappearance.
The report about the three “Indigenous People (IP) advocates” who were allegedly abducted by members of the 4th Infantry Battalion of the 203rd Infantry Brigade of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) was shared by human rights group Karapatan Southern Tagalog on its Facebook page on Oct. 3.
The group said that the three advocates were last seen on Sept. 19, and were taken by the army while they are investigating on human rights violations in the communities in connection to reports of the bombings and shelling by the said brigade in the area.
“It is very impossible na lalakarin namin ng tatlong araw para lang mangidnap ng kung sinuman na wala namang nakatira diyan. If you are an IP advocate, dun ka mag-advocacy sa community ng mga Mangyan (It is very impossible that we will walk for three days just to kidnap someone who doesn't live there. If you are an IP advocate, do advocacy in the Mangyan community),” Cabangbang said.
Karapatan Southern Tagalog said that indigenous communities in Mindoro are primarily the victims of the 4th Infantry Battalion’s military operations in the area.
“From April 29 to May 8 this year, a series of ‘test fire exercises’, aerial bombings, and strafing affected at least 14,261 residents in Roxas, Mansalay, Bongabong, and Bansud towns in Oriental Mindoro,” the group said.
The group added that the report on the three missing individuals happened a month after the alleged abduction of environmental activists Jonila Castro and Jhed Tamano in Bataan province, and the foiled attempt by the 70th Infantry Battalion of the AFP to present them as “surrenderee,” as well as the disappearance of other activists from Mangyan communities and different parts of the country.
“Documented human rights violations committed by the 4th IB and the 203rd IBPA have been mounting. This is a deeply concerning trend of state violence from the US Counterinsurgency Guide-inspired national security policy of the Marcos Jr. administration,” Karapatan Southern Tagalog Spokesperson Rev. Luisito Saliendra said.
The NTF-ELCAC said that David, Del Monte, and Encela were members of the New People’s Army (NPA) and were arrested in legitimate focus military operations in the area while they were allegedly carrying explosives and materials while on the mountain range in Barangay Lisap, Bongabong town.
ICOC head and NTF-ELCAC spokesman Director-designate Joel Sy Egco said that the three captured individuals does not even know they were called as “IP advocates.”
Cabangbang also criticized the group Karapatan for allegedly spreading lies surrounding the recent capture of three individuals in Oriental Mindoro and for using the issue to amass money through an “alert-surface-donation-release” (ASDR) scheme.
Egco said the human rights group and other communist terrorist groups (CTGs) use the “ASDR” template to generate funds to aid activities of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing NPA, and also as a tool to recruit from the youth sector as young as junior and senior high school students and out-of-school youth (OSY) from vulnerable communities.
The army gerenal also urged the public not to subscribe on the donation campaign of the said groups.
Cabangbang added that the three were not detained but in voluntary custody of his brigade.
The parents of the three captured individuals were also present during the virtual press conference. They thanked the 203rd Infantry Brigade of the AFP for taking their children under their custody.
The NTF-ELCAC said Encela, David, and del Monte are now facing a case for violation of Republic Act 8294 (Illegal Possession and Manufacture of Explosive Devices).
Several human rights groups and other organizations held protests calling on authorities for the immediate release of the three “IP adovacates.”
“The circumstances of the abduction of David, del Monte, and Encela indicate that they are in the hands of the military and therefore under duress and deprived of remedies that should be available to them. They should receive proper attention under human rights standards, unless the military be guilty again for more injustices under international and local human rights laws,” Saliendra earlier added.