House probe into disappearance of Cordillera activist sought

MANILA, Philippines - Militant lawmakers on Monday filed a resolution urging the House committee on human rights to conduct an investigation on the enforced disappearance of a Cordillera activist two months ago. Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Teodoro Casiño, one of the authors of House Resolution No. 869, said it is time for Congress to step in as the military, whose members allegedly perpetrated the disappearance of Cordillera People's Alliance (CPA) founding member James Balao last September 17, has not resolved the case despite demands from local Benguet officials and organizations. "For the past two weeks we have observed a resurgence of attacks against the ranks of activists. Kasama na dito yung pagpatay sa tatlong leaders ng Bayan Muna sa Mindanao...We feel that it has reached a point that Congress itself has to intervene because kung pababayaan lang natin ito sa...military na tuloy tuloy ang pagtatakip, baka it might be too late," Casiño said in a press conference Monday. (“For the past two weeks we have observed a resurgence of attacks against the ranks of activists, including the killing of three Bayan Muna leaders in Mindanao. We feel that it has reached a point that Congress itself has to intervene because if we let the military, which continues its cover-ups, resolve the case, then it might be too late.”) Aside from Casiño, the resolution was co-authored by party-list Reps. Satur Ocampo (Bayan Muna), Rafael Mariano (Anakpawis), and Liza Maza and Luzviminda Ilagan (Gabriela). Last October 9, the Balao family and CPA chairperson Beverly Longid filed a writ of amparo before the Benguet Regional Trial Court 63. In a press statement, Longid likewise urged Cordillera lawmakers to support the resolution filed by the militant lawmakers. "We call upon our kakailian (village-mates) in Congress to support efforts to immediately surface our Ibaloi and Kankana-ey brother. Isakit ti kailyan (defend, protect, and emphatize with your fellow Igorots)," Longid said. "President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has Igorot blood on her hands. Under her regime, many of our kakailian have been martyred while defending their ancestral land and self-determination. Help save James' life from the punitive handiwork of state terrorism and national oppression," Longid added. Balao, who also serves as president of the Oclupan Clan Association of Benguet, was abducted by armed men suspected to be members of government armed forces in Lower Tomay, Benguet. The Indigenous Peoples Rights Monitor said Balao is the first documented indigenous victim of enforced disappearance under the Arroyo administration. - GMANews.TV