CHR: Remember Palimbang Massacre on its 48th anniversary

By: Jean Mangaluz - 2 years ago

THIS doorway was witness to the massacre in Palimbang town, Sultan Kudarat province, of 1,500 Moro people in 1971 when the then Marcos dictatorship launched an annihilation campaign against Moro rebels. KARLOS MANLUPIG

THIS doorway was witness to the massacre in Palimbang town, Sultan Kudarat province, of 1,500 Moro people in 1974 when the then Marcos dictatorship launched an annihilation campaign against Moro rebels. KARLOS MANLUPIG

MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) on Saturday called to remembrance the gruesome Palimbang massacre, urging Filipinos to remember the Moro residents who were killed, raped, and tortured by the Philippine Army in 1974.

“As we commemorate the Palimbang massacre, let us honor the victims and their families by remembering their sufferings and help ensure that such grave violence will not be repeated,” the CHR said in a Twitter post.

On September 24, 1974, 1,000 men were killed in the Tacbil Mosque in Palimbang, Sultan Kudarat. That is not, however, where the violence ended.

READ: Massacre of 1,000 in mosque recalled

“[One hundred] heavily armed men entered a small village and razed it to the ground. Men, women, children and the elderly were tortured and murdered. Over 300 hundred houses were burned, women were raped, and men made to dig their own graves before they were shot,” said the CHR.

“When it was already over, 1,500 village members perished. This act of heinous violence happened during Martial Law, and the armed men were members of the Philippine Army,” said the CHR.

48 years ago in 1974, 100 heavily armed men entered a small village and razed it to the ground. Men, women, children and the elderly were tortured and murdered. Over 300 hundred houses were burned, women were raped, and men made to dig their own graves before they were shot. pic.twitter.com/6kuJEYpn8D

— CHR Philippines (@chrgovph) September 24, 2022

This is considered as one of the many human rights violations under the term of former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. The government would not acknowledge the atrocities for another forty years until 2014, stated the CHR.

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