Bayan calls for full accountability in Kidapawan clash

A week after the bloody clash between cops and farmers in Kidapawan City, North Cotabato, a militant group on Friday called for full accountability from the government over the dispersal that resulted in the deaths of at least three protesting peasants.

Expressing alarm over a “government cover-up,” Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) said no one was taking full responsibility for the incident while several people remain detained and “not one sack of rice has been distributed.”

READ: Cops, farmers clash in Kidapawan; 2 dead

“The Philippine president remains silent on the issue. There are already telling signs of a government cover-up in the investigation of the shootings,” Bayan secretary-general Renato Reyes said in a statement.

“We protest today to demand full accountability from our government officials. From the Senate hearing on the incident, no one took full responsibility for the dispersal and the firing of automatic weapons on unarmed protesters. The officials from North Cotabato were engaged in finger-pointing and obfuscation. Everyone either washed their hands or raised secondary issues as to why the protesters were dispersed,” he said.

Reyes also lashed out at the local government for a supposed failure of leadership, lamenting that the bloody dispersal was “purely a law enforcement matter” for North Cotabato Governor Emmylou “Lala” Talino-Mendoza and top officials of the province.

READ: Militant group hits Aquino admin over Kidapawan violence

“[For local officials,] the hungry farmers were a traffic problem that did not require an immediate political and practical solution. Mendoza said that it was up to the police to determine when the dispersal would be carried out. That right there is a failure of leadership on the provincial and city government,” Reyes said.

“The local government and police are ultimately responsible for the violent dispersal of farmer protesters. Charges should be filed against these officials, especially the armed elements of the PNP (Philippine National Police) who shot at protesters. The national government meanwhile is also ultimately liable for Kidapawan because of its criminal neglect of the victims of El Niño,” he added.

Reyes also called on the public to continuously express their support for drought-stricken farmers, who were demanding subsidy and assistance for farm communities affected by the dry spell.

“We call on the public to continue with strong solidarity for the farmers not just in North Cotabato but in all areas affected by drought. We call on the national government to act now and address the growing demands for immediate relief of the farmers affected by the drought. We call on the people to persevere in the fight for justice,” Reyes said. RAM