Soldiers from the 5th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army harassed residents of Sitio Catigday, Brgy. San Francisco, Alicia, Isabela who were going to a Leni-Kiko mural painting event at around 8 a.m. yesterday, March 6.
Carrying their long firearms, soldiers distributed posters regarding the Enhanced–Comprehensive Local Integration Program’s (E-CLIP) and took pictures and videos without the resident’s consent.
Manong Renato Gameng, a farmworker and peasant leader of the Danggayan dagiti Mannalon ti Isabela – Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, was reportedly interrogated by one of the soldiers and their homes intruded by the military.
Sitio Catigday is a poor farmworker community in Central Isabela. They founded the San Francisco Farmers Association (SAFARMA) to lobby for decent wages and agricultural land reform.
Furthermore, a number of its residents also participated in a humanitarian mission led by progressive forces in Gonzaga, Cagayan last week where non-uniformed police forces arrested Makabayan-Cagayan Valley coordinator Agnes Mesina based on a junked warrant.
Mesina told ANC that they did not push through with the said activity after they were barred at a checkpoint that bore streamers tagging her and Anakpawis Party-list fourth nominee Isabeo Adviento as terrorists.
“Nung pagdating namin sa entrance na ng Barangay Sta. Clara where we’re supposed to conduct community outreach, there was a small group, mga — what do you call them? Mga groups na supposedly employed by the (National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict) kasi sila yung mga sumurrender ‘no, nagpa-clear sila ng pangalan, and so on and so forth.”
Tarpaulins red tagging her and Adviento were presented in the checkpoint where they were banished by state forces.
“Kaya so, nakiusap yung ilang barangay officials who were there na wag na lang kaming tumuloy kasi baka daw magkainitan nga naman, dahil hindi nila macontrol yung situation dahil nga yung mga nandoon daw na humarang sa amin are not actually from that area,” she said.
Later on that day, plainclothes cops in Cagayan province arrested Mesina while having dinner at an eatery at 7 p.m. in Aparri, Cagayan. Hours later, she was then released after they dismissed the murder charge against her.
With these incidents, Karapatan Cagayan Valley condemns the ongoing efforts to harass, vilify and suppress ordinary civilians and farmworkers who dissent against Duterte’s repressive policies.
“This is a violation of rights orchestrated by Duterte’s military and the NTF-ELCAC. This is also to highlight the gross negligence of the Duterte administration in handling the state’s red-tagging machinery, alongside the regime’s human rights violations,” Karapatan-CV added.
Aside from the harassment of Gameng and the arrest of Mesinas, military forces also bombed and strafed Agta communities in Gonzaga, Cagayan last month where at least 60 families forcibly evacuated.
#StopTheAttacks
Featured image courtesy of Karaptan Cagayan Valley.
