Hundreds call for justice for Kabacan massacre victims

PEACE RALLY People from Bangsamoro villages join a peace rally along the Davao-Cotabato national highway on Saturday, calling for justice for the nine Moro civilians executed near the university granary in Kabacan, Cotabato. —WILLIAMOR MAGBANUA

KIDAPAWAN CITY, Cotabato, Philippines — Hundreds of people from Bangsamoro villages in Cotabato province gathered on Saturday to denounce the killing of nine Moro civilians in Kabacan town and to ask for the speedy investigation of the case.

The protesters also hung a huge tarpaulin in front of the mosque in Kabacan’s Kayaga village which read, “Justice for Kabacan massacre,” referring to the nine Moro civilians, two of them minors, who were executed along the road near the University of Southern Mindanao (USM) granary in Kabacan town by gunmen wielding high-powered firearms exactly a week ago on Saturday.

Along the opposite sides of the highway, protesters waved placards which read, “Give us justice,” “Huwag idaan sa limot ang hustisya ng Kabacan massacre (Don’t forget to deliver justice to the Kabacan massacre),” “Bangsamoro, Kristiyano at Lumad; mahal namin ang isat-isa. Kami ay nagkakaisa (Bangsamoro, Christians and Lumad: we love each other, we stand as one).”

The peace rally caught the attention of some commuters along the Cotabato-Davao highway, some of them stopped and briefly disembarked to express support for the protesters.

“We are one with the Bangsamoro people in praying for justice for the victims. The culprits should be placed behind bars,” one of the commuters said.

Impartial probe

At least two victims who were minors were able to relay to relatives before they died that the police held and attacked them. Top police officials, however, earlier issued statements they were still investigating the case.

Jabib Guiabar, the designated caretaker for seven Kabacan barangays who opted to join the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), said Moro leaders initiated the peace rally in support of the victims’ families who were crying out for justice.

“We want to air our sentiments. What we want is justice and impartial investigation of the case,” Guiabar said. He said the peace rally had the support of the top officials of the BARMM, who vowed to help the families at all cost to deliver justice for their loved ones.

BIAF still alive

The armed forces of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), one of the Moro separatist groups that inked a peace agreement with the government, also expressed support for the families of the victims.“The Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF) is still alive and ready to defend the rights of the Bangsamoro people,” Abdulraof Macacua, BIAF chief of staff and current member of the Bansamoro Transition Authority (BTA).

Among those who lost a son, a son-in-law and the nephew has been a decommissioned MILF combatant.

HIGHWAY PROTEST Moro residents of Kabacan town line the Davao-Cotabato highway to call for justice for nine slain Moro civilians.—WILLIAMOR MAGBANUA

Earlier, Lawyer Naguib Sinarimbo, minister of the interior and local governments of the Bangsamoro Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), said listening to the former combatant’s story broke his heart. The man joined the MILF in the 60s and the 70s to protect his family and community from the infamous massacres that included the Manili massacre north of Kabacan town.

“After the GPH-MILF peace agreement (was signed), he gave up his arms in the hope of finding a peaceful and productive life,” Sinarimbo said. “(But) on August 29, he lost three dear members of his family.”

Health protocol observed

The crowd at the rally swelled towards noontime but organizers made sure that health protocols against COVID-19 were strictly observed.

Guiabar told participants they could not enter the mosque without their face masks and without undergoing thermal scanning and foot bath. Persons also roamed around to remind participants to observe a one-meter distance from each other.

This developed as Kabacan Mayor Herlo Guzman accompanied the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in the region to the crime scene on Saturday for the start of the preliminary investigation. Guzman did not give additional details on the NBI visit.

—With a report from Taher Solaiman