THE Kalipunan ng mga Katutubong Mamamayan (KAMP) on Monday expressed “serious concern” over alleged human-rights violations committed against tribesmen in Agusan del Sur.
KAMP Spokesman Piya Macliing Malayao said human-rights violations against the Banwaon people in the mountains of Agusan del Sur escalated after the military’s alleged killing of Necasio “Angis” Precioso Sr. last December 22, the first day of the suspension of military operations declared by the Armed Forces.
Precioso was the barangay captain of Balit, San Luis, Agusan del Sur, and a defender of the Banwaon people’s rights.
“Kapitan Angis was a beloved defender of the Banwaon tribe. His killing is an atrocity that the indigenous people will not forget. We demand swift justice. The lumad people in had vowed to avenge his killing, and will not stop until the perpetrators are put to justice,” Malayao said.
Precioso was one of the founders of local indigenous peoples’ organization Tagdumahan, a member-organization of KAMP.
The human-rights violations against indigenous peoples in the area where Precioso was killed continue and is escalating, Malayao reported.
“The operations of the 26th Infantry Battalion in La Paz, Agusan del Sur, and nearby communities are causing many forms of human-rights violations such as harassment and illegal searches. Some of the Banwaon are forced to leave their homes and communities to escape the combat operations,” Malayao claimed.
A total of 174 families with 914 members are in the evacuation center in Barangay Balit, San Luis, Agusan Sur, and 50 of them are sick, Malayao said.
The night before his killing, Precioso reportedly had a row with MSgt. Andres Villaganas of the Army’s 26th Infantry Battalion after he demanded the military to pull out from the community since the encampment of military forces in civilian zones is a violation of international humanitarian law.
Precioso was shot dead by motorcycle-riding gunmen while walking with his son the following day.
Terrorism followed the village captain’s killing, Malayao said.
On December 24, 2014, the body of an unidentified man was found in Sitio Tabon-Tabon, Barangay
Mahagsay.
In fear, the community evacuated a week later.
On January 3 the house of a resident in Tabo-Tabon was burned down by unidentified perpetrators.
Twenty days later, families from the subvillages of Kimambukagyang, Tabon-Tabon, Tabanganan, Nakadayas, Pig-ulingan, Mimpalaos, Maputi, Kandiisan, Tambo and KM 48 evacuated.
The next day, families from Sitio Agduka evacuated to Barangay Balit.
“There is a clear attempt to terrorize the indigenous peoples in the area. The killing of Angis and the following terrorism by the Armed Forces is devised to repress the indigenous peoples’ demand for their rights to land. Kapitan Angis was the epitome of this struggle of the Banwaon people’s struggle,” Malayao said.
The Banwaon people are protesting against the operations of several mining corporations that will encroach on their ancestral lands. Malampay, Makilala and Tambuli mining companies are set to operate in San Luis, La Paz and Talacogon villages in the borderlines of Agusan del Norte and Agusan del Sur.
Currently, the lumad evacuees at Barangay Balit, San Luis, Agusan del Sur are in need of immediate humanitarian aid, Malayao said.
“The Banwaon people are in dire need of food, clothing, and medicine. Many are getting sick in the cramped evacuation site. This is an escalating humanitarian crisis that will only cease if the military will pull out of the indigenous people’s communities,” Malayao added.
Marvyn N. Benaning / Correspondent