Government backs probe into Lumad killings – Palace

A Malacañang spokesman on Sunday expressed support for the Catholic Church officials' call for an “honest, thorough, impartial, and speedy" investigation on the recent killings of three Lumad leaders in Surigao del Sur.

 

In an interview over state-run dzRB radio, Communications Secretary Herminio “Sonny” Coloma Jr. said the Department of Justice has backed the conduct of an inter-agency probe into the deaths of Lumad leaders Dionel Campos and Datu Juvello Sinzo — gunned down in front of the Lumad community — and Alternative Learning Center for Agricultural and Livelihood Development (Alcadev) school director Emerito Samarca on Sept. 1.

 

"We note the statement of the CBCP on the killing of Lumads. According to Justice Secretary (Leila) de Lima, the DOJ (Department of Justice) supports the call for an inter-agency probe of the incident,” said Coloma.

 

The government, he added, continues to ensure the safety of all citizens, as well as the maintenance of peace and order in the country.

 

The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), through Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas, earlier called on the government to probe the Lumad killings even as it slammed the Aquino administration's seeming "alarming eagerness to deny culpability” of the paramilitary Magahat/Bagani Force in the incident.

 

The Magahat/Bagani Force has been implicated in the killings by the Association of Major Religious Superiors.

 

“If made before any such investigation, they disturbingly suggest a refusal to hold accountable those to whom the Administration so early extends its mantle of protection," the CBCP said.

Thousands of Lumads from Lianga and nearby towns have fled to Tandag City, the provincial capital, because of the killings.

Group seeks UN probe into deaths

On Saturday, human rights group Karapatan said it has written to special rapporteurs of the UN Human Rights Council asking the body "to investigate and recommend actions to the Philippine government on these issues."

"There is no way the government can deny this as long as it implements counter-insurgency programs like Oplan Bayanihan. The paramilitary groups is one way of tackling this dirty war against the Filipino people. It is no wonder why the AFP has not disbanded these groups—because they work together," Karapatan secretary-general Cristina Palabay said in a statement to the media.
 

In a separate statement Sunday, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) condemned the Lumad killings and denied any link to groups involved in the ongoing tribal conflict in Surigao del Sur. 

 

"The AFP is not connected to any group involved in the tribal conflict now happening particularly in Lianga, Surigao and will not tolerate any group espousing violence in any community," it said. 

 

While it welcomed human rights group Karapatan's plan to seek the United Nation's intervention into the matter, the AFP said the organization should be fair and hold members of the New People's Army responsible for previous Lumad killings. 

 

"Let Karapatan fight for all the atrocities commited by any group and not just [focus] on the alleged crimes committed by one while turning a blind eye on the heinous crimes committed and publicly admitted by the NPA," the military said. 

 

The AFP said that from 1998 to 2008, remnants of the NPA killed 357 Lumads, while in 2009 alone, the communists killed 83 civilians, including 24 Lumads. 

 

It also recalled that in 2010. the Lumad Tulang brothers were murdered by remnants of the NPA in Davao City, with the elder Tulang shot in the head, while his two siblings were found hogtied and bore torture marks. — Xianne Arcangel/JDS, GMA News