300 villagers flee military operations in ComVal

DAVAO CITY—Close to 300 people left their homes in Sitio Side 4 in Barangay (village) Manggayon in Maco, Compostela Valley, on Friday as fighting between government troops and communist New People’s Army guerrillas intensified.

Fearing they might get caught in the crossfire, 227 people left Manggayon to head for neighboring Sitio Lobog in Barangay Ngan, where soldiers and town officials fetched and brought them to the Compostela town gym, 1st Lt. Vilma Mojado, the Army’s first communication information company commander, told the Inquirer.

But Bello Tindasan, spokesperson of the Compostela Farmers’ Association, said the Matigsalog lumad fled because they were against the 25th Infantry Battalion’s (IB) plan to stay in their community for three weeks. He said some 120 soldiers in full battle gear and with heavy artillery arrived in Sitio Side 4 on Oct. 2 and stayed in their community.

“They asked the military to pull out but the military said they will stay for a few more days until they have finished their operations,” Tindasan said in a statement.

Christina Lantao, a Matigsalog woman leader, said she was worried that the farm, which they replanted after Typhoon “Pablo,” their farm animals and the school they were building would be destroyed.

“We have a 61-hectare farm, some horses, pig and chickens; we have four classrooms that are not yet finished. We just want to recover from Pablo,” said Lantao.

Tindasan said other communities in Compostela town also face displacement because of the intensified military operations.

“The number of evacuees is increasing as other militarized communities start leaving their homes,” he said. “They refuse to go back to their communities unless the military pulls out, at least 800 to 1,000 meters away.”

“We call for the immediate withdrawal of the 25th IB from the ancestral land to allow the lumad to continue their community rebuilding efforts,” he said.

Sheena Duazo, secretary general of the human rights group Karapatan, also said a Matigsalog family was “threatened” and was stopped from leaving the area.

Duazo identified the family as Tigkay Dayagmos, his wife Julieta and their four children, and a certain Rito Tibalao. She did not elaborate.

Mojado denied this, saying the troops of the 25th IB and the Compostela town officials helped the residents to safety. Mojado also said a brief firefight ensued when communist rebels fired at the responding troops belonging to the 25th IB on their way to Sitio Side 4. Germelina Lacorte, Inquirer Mindanao