Statement by the Movement Against Tyranny
June 17, 2021
The Movement Against Tyranny expresses its grave concern on military operations by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) that appear to have targeted and killed at least six unarmed civilians in Masbate and Surigao del Sur in a span of a week.
The first incident is the June 8 killing of three alleged New People’s Army combatants in Masbate City who the military accused as being involved in the killing of the Absalon cousins last June 6. Reports gathered by human rights groups indicate that Ailyn Bulalacao, Ramon Brioso and Antonio Poligrates were ordinary farmers who were abducted from their houses on the night of June 7 and then turned out dead the next day after supposedly fighting it out with government troops.
The second incident involves the alleged killing of a 12-year old Lumad student, her sister and cousin in Lianga, Surigao del Sur yesterday, June 15. The Natonal Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Confict (NTF-ELCAC) said 12-year old Angel Rivas, her sister Lenie and cousin Willy Rodriguez were killed in a gunfight with government troops.
Their relatives insist that they were killed while on their way to town to buy rice, after harvesting abaca from their farm. Shocked family members who saw their bodies say the victims remains were apparently desecrated.
If such reports are true, these two incidents become the latest in a long line of AFP and PNP counterinsurgency or anti-criminality operations that have ended up with innocent civilians being killed. It is time we put a stop to this practice of targeting civilians.
We call on the civilian authorities to immediately conduct an impartial investigation to ascertain the truth and exact accountability. We also call on the Commission on Human Rights to protect the families of the victims and their witnesses from intimidation and pressure from the AFP, PNP and NTF-ELCAC.#
Ref.: Sr. Mary John Mananzan and Dr. Carol Araullo,
MAT co-convenors
