Save Our School (SOS) Network-Cebu condemns the “bloody massacre” of five civilians, including volunteer Lumad school teachers Chad Booc and Gelejurain Nguho II, by the 1001st Infantry Battalion in New Bataan, Davao de Oro last Thursday, February 24.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) circulated that the deaths were due to an encounter between the AFP and New People’s Army (NPA) after parading the dead bodies as war trophies.
Captain Mark Anthony Tito, information officer of the Army’s 10th Infantry Division, claimed that civilian residents had alerted soldiers of the 1001st Infantry Brigade regarding the presence of the “rebels.”
“The firefight started at around 4 am and lasted throughout the morning. There were three encounters in the forested section of the village,” Tito added.
However, in a statement of SOS Network-Cebu, local residents reported that there was no actual encounter between the AFP and the NPA as the locals in Brgy. Andap, New Bataan, Davao de Oro confirmed.
Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Public Information Officer Marco Valbuena said that the local NPA unit and residents in the area confirmed that there was no firefight between government and rebel forces and AFP’s claim is “an outright lie.”
“The AFP’s ‘killed in an encounter’ storyline has repeatedly been used in the past to cover up the cold-blooded murder of civilians or unarmed people. We urge their family and friends to uncover the facts surrounding their deaths and demand justice for their murders.” Valbuena added.
Nguho II, more known as Teacher Jurain, was a volunteer teacher at the Community Technical College of Southern Mindanao (CTCSM) in Barangay Lapu-lapu, Maco, Davao de Oro.
Meanwhile, Booc graduated cum laude Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the University of the Philippines Diliman and volunteered as a mathematics teacher at the Alternative Learning Center Agricultural Development (ALCADEV), a school for Lumad in Lianga, Surigao del Sur.
Booc was imprisoned by the Duterte government twice. First, in 2017, for protesting the imposition of Martial Law in Mindanao while President Duterte was delivering his SONA. Second, in February 2021, in University of San Carlos in Talamban, Cebu with 25 other Lumad evacuees.
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Another UP student leader and volunteer teacher, Kevin “Ka Facio” Castro,was killed by the 1st Infantry Battalion Philippine Army in Polillo, Quezon last February 21.
Castro was a former College of Education Student Council chairperson and representative to the USC. He also organized campaigns for the National Union of Students of the Philippines, such as the Free Tuition Law, before becoming a volunteer-teacher in the province and then joining the New People’s Army.
SOS Network continued to call for justice for the victims, “Together with the victims’ families, the Save Our Schools Network demands justice and a thorough investigation for Chad, for Jurain, and the other victims of the massacre. We enjoin our fellow advocates to call to address the root causes of armed conflict and resume peace talks!”
Various student and mass organizations have posted eulogies and called for justice for Castro, Booc, and the rest of New Bataan 5.
#JusticeForNewBataan5
#JusticeForKevinCastro
#JusticeForChadBooc
Featured image courtesy of SOS Network Cebu
