Relatives, colleagues of slain militant press for justice
MALALAG, Davao del Sur, Philippines—Outrage among militants and the family of a slain member of Anak Pawis continues even after he was laid to rest last Tuesday.
On Thursday, the family and colleagues of Roque Laputan, 59, again pressed the government to identify, arrest and prosecute the people behind his murder last July 10.
Laputan, who was at the forefront of protests against the operation of Xstrata-owned Sagittarius Mines Inc. in Davao del Sur and the company’s plan to put up a coal-fired plant here, was in a store in Barangay (village) Tagansuli when two masked men on a motorcycle arrived, one of whom alighted, grabbed Laputan by the neck and shot him twice in the head. He died on the spot.
Police Officer 2 Jonalou Canada, investigator of the police’s homicide section, said that as of Thursday no suspect had been identified.
But Ryan Lariba, spokesman of the militant group Bayan in Davao del Sur, said Laputan could be the latest victim of a crackdown on militants.
Rene Lopez of the Save Malalag Bay Movement said President Aquino should exert more effort in the drive against people violating the government’s avowed human rights policy.
“All we wanted is for the government to give speedy justice for the victims of extra-judicial killings. They must stop all these merciless acts of preying on innocent people, whose only objective is to protect the environment and expose the wrongdoings of the government,” Lopez said.
He said that while Laputan’s death showed that the threats against militants were real, it would not deter them from opposing anti-people government policies.
“They wanted to silence us by all means. But it will not deter us from pushing on with our cause of protecting the environment from destruction,” Lopez said.
Mariefe Elesterio, a daughter of the victim, said the family could not think of any other reason for her father’s death. “He had no known enemies,” she said.—With a report from Orlando Dinoy, Inquirer Mindanao
