PHILIPPINES: Incidents of death, torture, disappearance and displacement of civilians during a military operation 

UA-87-2005: PHILIPPINES: Incidents of death, torture, disappearance and displacement of civilians during a military operation

PHILIPPINES: Death resulting from denial of immediate medical attention; Torture; Disappearance; Indigenous Peoples Rights; Displacement; Violation of Protocol II regarding internal conflict

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from a coalition of churches and human rights organisations in Surigao del Sur, Mindanao, regarding serious human rights violations against civilians and indigenous people (IPs), which took place during a military operation against insurgents between 28 April and 12 May this year.

Reports from KARAPATAN, a human rights non-governmental organization, disclosed that a 27-year-old civilian, wounded in a shooting, died when the military allegedly prevented him from being taken to hospital. Twelve farmers and evacuees were allegedly tortured separately by the military over suspicions they were either rebels or rebel sympathizers. Three of them are young men and were used as human shields and guide against their will to locate rebel positions. The disappearance of seven people and the massive evacuation of civilians, also took place.

It was also reported that 1,608 individuals, most of them IPs, have been displaced in three communities in the province, while some 166 families have been evacuated from the municipality of Marihatag. Several church organisations have been appealing for donations of relief and medical assistance for evacuees to augment the need of evacuees suffering in desperate condition. (Donations for evacuees can be sent to, Bank Account name: Roman Catholic Bishop of Tandag; Account number: 1423319506; Bank name and Branch: Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC), Tandag branch, Surigao del Sur, Mindanao, Philippines).

We urge your immediate intervention to ask the Philippine government, in particular the Philippine Army of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), to initiate necessary sanctions against their ranks for violation of Article 4, Section 2(a) of Protocol II of the Geneva Convention which “prohibits violence to the life, health and physical or mental well-being of a person” and provides protection to victims of non-international armed conflict. The military must observe the protocol’s provision during their operation.

Further please also ask the Commission on Human Rights, Regional Office in Butuan City to investigate allegations of abuses and violation of human rights in the conduct of the military operations. It must initiate legal actions against the perpetrators and recommend for compensation and provision of assistance to victims. The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and its field office must also ensure that the security and needs of the evacuees are met.

Urgent Appeals Desk
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
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DETAILED INFORMATION:

Name of victim who died: Jessie Bacasmas (27). He belongs to an indigenous tribe.
Names of torture victims: Nicolas Suazo, Jessie Payac, Rogelio Sumaya, Reneboy Guisando (26), Charlie Oclarit (17), Junrey Cata (18), Junrey Casil, Ranly Casil, Fortunato Jacinto and Junjun Jacinto and two other unnamed evacuees
Names of three young men forced as military guide: Junrey Casil, Junrey Cata and Ranly Casil
Names of disappeared persons: Fortunato Jacinto, Junjun Jacinto, Tony Tamparong, Lolong Casil, Lowi Casil, Joel Amahan and Arnulfo Casil
Estimated number of displaced civilians: 1,608 individuals and 166 families
Date and place of incidents: between 28 April to 12 May 2005, in the areas of Lianga, San Agustin, Marihatag and Cagwait, all in province of Surigao del Sur, Mindanao
Alleged perpetrators: Elements of 58th Infantry Battalion and 6th Scout Rangers Company of the 402nd Brigade, Philippine Army.

(Based on the report released by KARAPATAN – Surigao del Sur)

On 28 April 2005, military forces involving elements of the 58th Infantry Battalion, Philippine Army and the 6th Scout Rangers Company, intensified their counter-insurgency operation in the remote areas of Lianga, San Agustin, Marihatag and Cagwait, in the province of Surigao del Sur.

From the start of its operation until May 14, several violations of rights allegedly perpetrated by the said unit have been reported. On April 28 at 8:00am., Nicolas Suazo, Jessie Payac and Rogelio Sumaya, all of Mat-I, Cagwait, were allegedly tortured by the military. The three were on their way to their farmland when confronted by the military. They were tortured and interrogated one after the other.

Two soldiers held Suazo while another soldier covered his head with a plastic bag. His stomach was punched, his back was hit with a wooden plank and a gun was pointed at him. His arm was burned with lit cigarette butts. Jessie Payac and Rogelio Sumaya were then told to leave Suazo as the military threatened on shooting him.

Payac was hit on his head, threatened that he would be stabbed and hit with a bolo. Sumaya was then tied down and punched in the stomach.

On April 29, 26-year-old Reneboy Guisando, a farmer and a resident of Purok Mam-on, Tubo-tubo, Cagwait, was taking a rest near a rice field, when approached by several armed military men. Guisando was interrogated by two military. He was told to take off his clothes, his shoulder was pressed hard, his arms twisted behind his back and his chest and sides were poked with a gun.

When he was interrogated, Guisando was passed on from one soldier to another. He was punched in the stomach six times. Then he was ordered to run. He refused for fear he would be shot for doing so. By refusing to do so, he was hit numerous times by a rattan stick and was kicked by several soldiers.

At around 11:00am that day, Charlie Oclarit (17) was approached by an armed man wearing military uniform. He was held very tight by the soldier and was taken to a group of approximately 20 other soldiers. Oclarit was asked the whereabouts of rebel’s location. While he was interrogated, a military man withdrew a knife while another one held Oclarit’s hands behind his back. Another soldier then covered his head with a plastic bag. His eyes were covered and his cheeks were slapped several times. He was made to lie down facing the ground while a soldier sat on top of his back. The soldier however, freed him at around 1:00pm.

On the afternoon of May 4, Junrey Cata (18), a resident of Magkahunao, San Agustin was harvesting abaca when soldiers arrived and surrounded him with their guns pointing at him. He was interrogated, strangled and forced at knife point to admit he is a member of a rebel group. They then forced Cata to be their guide to locate rebels. Because Cata could not provide information, they kicked and punched him until he lost consciousness. He only found out later he was taken to another group of soldiers holding two other persons-brothers Junrey and Ranly Casil.

The Casils were also surrounded by military with guns pointed at them. Junrey Casil’s hands were tied behind his back with a six-inch knife pointed at Ranly. Ranly’s right arm suffered cuts. The two were forced, by the soldiers, to be their guides and locate the rebels’ position. Junrey Casil’s head, back, right shoulders and chest were hit with a gun, while his chest and sides were punched. The soldiers also burned Junrey Casil’s skin with kerosene that trickled down from the container he was carrying.

The three young men were then taken to a jungle where they spent the night with the military. The soldiers tried to convince them to join the military and they would received P5,000 (USD90) monthly salaries. While in the military’s custody, they were allegedly used as human shields, with Junrey Casil in front, Junrey Cata in the middle and Ranly Casil at the back.

It was only two days later, at around 7:00am, when they were released from the military’s custody. However, four of Casil’s relatives, namely Lolong Casil, Lowi Casil, Joel Amahan and Arnulfo Casil, who were with a group looking for the Casil brother, were told to stay with the military men. They remain missing to date.

On May 12, at around 9am, 27-year-old Jessie Bacasmas of Km. 9, Diatagon was shot while trying to get into a truck full of evacuees, including his family who were heading for Diatagon in Lianga. He was shot in front of his wife and two siblings. It was reported that the military prevented him from being taken to the hospital immediate after he was shot.

It was only when Bacasmas relatives insisted he be taken to hospital that the military allowed him to leave. But their truck was stopped several times while on the way to the hospital, where they were interrogated and their belongings were searched before the military would allow them to continue on. Upon arriving at the 58th Infantry Battalion checkpoint, they were stopped and were interrogated for more than half an hour. They were ordered to bring Bacasmas down from the truck and his relatives were also questioned.

It was only after much delay that Bacasmas arrived at the barangay health center in Diatagon before being transferred on to the nearby district hospital.  However, Bacasmas died before receiving the medical attention he needed.

Also on the evening of May 12, two other farmers, namely Fortunato Jacinto, and Junjun Jacinto, a resident of Han-ayan, Lianga were also allegedly forcibly taken by the military. They were tortured and then taken with Tony Tamparong, another farmer, towards the Hubo River. They have not been seen since then.  Two unnamed evacuees from Magkahunaw were also tortured by the military. Their heads were covered with cellophane, and they were punched and kicked inside a classroom in the Tribal School in Han-ayan. Other evacuees staying in the same classroom witnessed the said incident.

On May 18, moved by the evacuation of civilians in six municipalities, the Provincial Peace and Order Council convened. The provincial officials, church leaders and military officials attended the meeting. It was agreed that the civilians in Km. 9, Emerald, Diatagon, were allowed to return to their communities. The returning evacuees then discovered that their cooperative store had been ransacked, their corn mill forced open, their milling machine destroyed, their water hose cut into pieces, and their houses dug with foxholes.

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