Independent probe of B’laan slays sought

DAVAO CITY—A left-wing organization is demanding an independent investigation of the Oct. 18 killing of the wife and two children of a tribal leader waging an armed war on mining and whom the military tagged as a bandit.

In a statement, the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), said court martial proceedings against 13 soldiers tagged as involved in the killings would not suffice.

“There has to be an independent body that should conduct an investigation and it should not include the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines),” said Ryan Lariba, head of Bayan in the South Cotabato-Sultan Kudarat-Sarangani (Socksargen) area.

On Oct. 18, soldiers from the Army’s 27th Infantry Battalion were hunting down Dagil Capion, a B’laan leader who has been waging an armed war against Xstrata’s Sagittarius Mines Inc. (SMI).

The soldiers ended up killing Capion’s wife, Juvy, and two children, Pop, 13, and John, 8.

The Eastern Mindanao Command of the AFP said the woman and children were caught in a cross fire, but militants and human rights groups cited reports that there was no gunfight.

Lt. Col. Lyndon Paniza, 10th Infantry Division spokesperson, said a military investigation found that the soldiers involved in the killings had committed tactical lapses.

Recommended for court martial are 1st. Lt. Dante Jimenez; Sgts. Dennis Murillo and Rommel Ballenas; Cpls. Robert Godio, Ayiha Namla, Brucekhan Sahali, Bashir Said, Julah Majid and Jemson Jadjuli, and Pfcs. Marlowe Gayamot, Joel Lopez, Darryl Tayamora and Richard Julian.

Bayan, however, said the investigation spared top military officers who had direct supervision over the soldiers.

Panalipdan, an environment group, said the investigation must also include the head of the 27th Infantry Battalion, Lt. Col. Alexis Bravo, and the head of the 10th Infantry Division, Maj. Gen. Ariel Bernardo.

Bayan said soldiers should also be pulled out of Kiblawan, Davao del Sur and Tampakan, South Cotabato, “to prevent more abuses against antimining communities.”

The SMI project has failed to take off following the passing of an ordinance by the South Cotabato provincial government banning open pit mines.

The proposed mining site is believed to contain one of the world’s biggest deposits of gold and copper, and proponents are bragging it can help generate billions of dollars in revenue for the Philippine government every year.

The provincial government of South Cotabato, however, insists on its ban on open-pit mining, although it said there would be no opposition to the mining project as long as it would not use the open-pit mining method.

Entire mountains and hills are blasted away in open-pit mines to expose ore lying underground. Germelina Lacorte, Inquirer Mindanao