(From left) Job David, Peter del Monte Jr. and Alia Encela —PHOTOS FROM KARAPATAN-SOUTHERN TAGALOG FACEBOOK PAGE
The military has confirmed that three activists, whom the human rights group Karapatan said were abducted by soldiers, are in its custody following their arrest in an operation against communist rebels in Bongabong, Oriental Mindoro, last month.
In a statement on Thursday, Brig. Gen. Randolph Cabangbang, commander of the Army’s 203rd Infantry Brigade (IB), said Job David, Peter del Monte Jr. and Alia Encela, whom he identified only by their first names, were suspected members of the New People’s Army (NPA) who were arrested at Sitio Lawaan in Barangay Lisap, Bongabong, on Sept. 23.
“During the capture, they attempted to resist and reach for an object inside their bags but upon seeing that they had been surrounded, they decided to heed the soldiers’ call not to move anymore,” Cabangbang said.The soldiers, he said, found improvised landmines and grenades inside their bags.
“They were later identified by former communist rebels, who [earlier] surrendered [to the government], to be NPA members,” Cabangbang said.No basis
According to rights group Karapatan-Southern Tagalog, they learned that David, Del Monte and Encela were under the custody of the Army’s 203rd Infantry Brigade in Bansud town when they paid a courtesy visit to Oriental Mindoro Rep. Alfonso Umali Jr.
“We are concerned about their welfare because it seems they have been there for two weeks now,” the group said. “There is no legal nor moral basis to keep the three under the custody of the military and they must be freed immediately.”
David, 29; Del Monte, 29; and Encela, 19, are indigenous peoples’ (IP) rights activists working for progressive groups Anakbayan and Gabriela. “They were last seen on Sept. 19 at Barangay Lisap investigating human rights violations in connection to reports of bombings and shelling by the 203rd IB around the area earlier this year,” the group said in a post on their Facebook page on Wednesday.
Before they went missing, they were working with residents of Bongabong, mostly small rice and coconut farmers, who had been affected by rock quarrying projects in the area, Karapatan said.
“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,” said Rev. Luisito Saliendra, spokesperson for Karapatan-Southern Tagalog.
“They should receive proper attention under human rights standards, unless the military be [found] guilty again for more injustices under international and local human rights laws,” he added.
READ: Karapatan defends environment activists, tells NTF-Elcac to ‘stop projecting’
Following procedures
Cabangbang said the soldiers, after the operation, took David, Del Monte and Encela to the barangay office to record the incident.
“The barangay captain was present during that time,” he said.They were later taken to the Bongabong police station, so the incident would be entered into the police blotter.
“This is most definitely not a case of enforced disappearance but an example of how the Army follows procedures and values human rights,” Cabangbang said in a telephone interview on Thursday.
Cabangbang added: “They manifested that they wanted to remain under the custody of the 203rd IB after their inquest.”He said he was able to get in touch with the families of David, Del Monte and Encela.
“I gave my identity and personal number to their relatives. I wanted to be the one to tell them the good news that their children are safe and in good spirits,” he said, noting that Encela and her mother had met on Sept. 28. David, Del Monte and Encela were reported missing on the same day that environmental activists Jonila Castro and Jhed Tamano were surfaced in a press conference organized by the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac), where they confirmed that they had not surrendered but were instead abducted by state forces.
On Thursday, supporters of Castro and Tamano held a thanksgiving gathering to celebrate their release.
Castro said they revealed their situation during the NTF-Elcac press conference in Bulacan because they did not want to participate in “deceiving the public.”