WHO'S WHO IN HRV AREAS

With the sheer number of killings and abductions and the relative concentration of the occurrences of these heinous crimes in certain areas, it would have not been difficult for the government to know where and whom to investigate. That is, if the Arroyo government is even half that serious in wanting to solve these killings and abductions and to live up to its claim that the Philippines is a “bastion of human rights.”

BY ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO
Bulatlat

When President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo announced Aug. 21 that she had signed Administrative Order No. 157 creating “A Commission to Conduct an Independent Probe of the Killings of Media Practitioners and Militant Activists,” she said that “the Philippines is a bastion of human rights.” This, however, is not what the figures from human rights groups of all stripes – from Karapatan (Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights) to the Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP) to Amnesty International – have been showing.

Karapatan, in particular, has counted human rights violations affecting 262,908 people from 2001 – when Arroyo was catapulted to power through a popular uprising – to July 21, 2006.

The same human rights group has counted 730 extra-judicial killings as having taken place from 2001 to August 2006.

Of this number, at least 300 are confirmed to have been affiliated with cause-oriented groups. Twenty-four of the victims are themselves human rights workers – among them Benjaline Hernandez, a former campus journalist, and Eden Marcellana – who were coordinators of Karapatan when they were killed. Forty-four of the victims are children and five are unborn babies.

Meanwhile, there have been 181 victims of involuntary disappearances and at least 350 victims of frustrated killings for the same period.

There are particular regions and provinces in the country that are reported in the news as areas where human rights violations have occurred with more frequency than the usual. These are Central Luzon, Southern Tagalog, Eastern Visayas, Compostela Valley, Isabela, the Caraga Region, and the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao.

With the sheer number of killings and abductions and the relative concentration of the occurrences of these heinous crimes in certain areas, it would have not been difficult for the government to know where and whom to investigate. That is, if the Arroyo government is even half that serious in wanting to solve these killings and abductions and to live up to its claim that the Philippines is a “bastion of human rights.”

Data obtained by Bulatlat from Karapatan and the Philippine Army website show the disposition of troops in these areas.

Central Luzon – Bulacan, Pampanga, Zambales, Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, Aurora, and Bataan – is under the 7th Infantry Division, headed by Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan, Jr. Its headquarters is at Ft. Ramon Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija.

Among its provinces, it is in Nueva Ecija and Bulacan where the human rights situation is at present particularly bad.

Nueva Ecija is under the 71st Infantry Battalion. News items from the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) for this year point to Lt. Col. Gregory Cayetano as the commanding officer of the said unit.

Bulacan, meanwhile, is under the 56th Infantry Battalion. Recent media coverage shows Lt. Col. Noel Clement to be the commanding officer of the 56th Infantry Battalion.

Southern Tagalog encompasses the provinces of Laguna, Cavite, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon, Oriental Mindoro, Occidental Mindoro, Marinduque, Palawan, and Romblon. The whole region is under the 2nd Infantry Division. The Army website shows Maj. Gen. Alexander Yano to have been heading the said unit since last January.

Eastern Visayas is made up of the provinces of Biliran, Leyte, Southern Leyte, Samar, Eastern Samar, and Northern Samar. The said region is under the responsibility of the 8th Infantry Division. News reports point to Maj. Gen. Rodrigo Maclang as the commanding officer.

The province of Compostela Valley, founded in 1998 and thus one of the country’s newest provinces, is covered by the Davao Region together with Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, and Davao Oriental.

This region is included in the 4th Infantry Division’s area of responsibility. A PIA news item points to Maj. Gen. Cardozo Luna as the present commanding officer of the said unit. Holding direct jurisdiction over Compostela Valley is the 604th Infantry Battalion – based in Doña Andrea Asuncion, Davao del Norte. News reports show the 604th Infantry Battalion to be currently led by Lt. Col. Edgar Gonzales.

The province of Isabela falls within the Cagayan Valley region together with Cagayan, Quirino, Nueva Vizcaya, Apayao, and Batanes.

Cagayan Valley is under the 5th Infantry Division, with headquarters located in Gamu, Isabela. The said division is headed by Maj. Gen. Bonifacio Ramos. Holding direct jurisdiction over Isabela is the 502nd Infantry Brigade, shown by recent news reports to be under the command of Col. Hilario Atendido.

The Caraga Region, created in 1995, is the country’s newest region and is composed of four provinces: Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Surigao del Norte, and Surigao del Sur.

Caraga is covered by the 4th Infantry Division’s area of responsibility. Holding direct jurisdiction over the region is the 402nd Infantry Brigade, which based on recent news reports is headed by Brig. Gen. Ricardo David.

The ARMM is composed of Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-tawi, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, and Sulu and is under the jurisdiction of the 6th Infantry Division led by Maj. Gen. Rodolfo Obaniana, based on recent news reports.

These are the commanding officers in areas that are hot spots for human rights violations. If the Arroyo government and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) are not involved in the political killings, disappearances, and other human rights violations as they claim to be, they could easily use the troops under their command to run after the perpetrators. But then again, if they do, they may be running in circles just like the dog running after its own tail. Bulatlat