By Elvie Roa
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 02:48:00 11/19/2010
ORMOC CITY—“Sir, maawa kayo, sir. Tama na, sir. Maawa kayo (Sir, have pity, sir. That’s enough, sir. Have pity.)”
As shots rang out, foremost botanist Leonardo Co was heard shouting these words by one of his two guides who survived the gunfire that military officers insisted was an exchange of bullets between Army soldiers and communist rebels at a heavily forested area in Kananga, Leyte, on Monday.
Co, who was serving as biodiversity consultant of Lopez-owned Energy Development Corp. (EDC), company forest guard Sofronio G. Cortez, and his other guide, Julius Borromeo, were later found dead.
The survivor, Policarpio Balute, revealed more details of the shooting in an interview on Thursday.
Co’s team was facing a tree surrounded by tall grasses when they heard gunshots being fired in rapid succession, like an exploding belt of firecrackers, said Balute, a member of the Tongonan Farmers Association (Tofa).
The scientist was then collecting seedling specimens about 100 meters away from an EDC production well in Upper Mahiao, Barangay Lim-ao, he said. He maintained that he did not see any person in the vicinity.
Balute said he did not see who was shooting at them 30 meters to 40 meters away. On Tuesday, he said he did not hear any responding volley of shots from any direction that could indicate that the soldiers and rebels were engaged in battle.
He also heard a voice but could not understand what was being said.
Co urged the group to drop to the ground, Balute said. He said he froze at first, but he managed to run and hide behind a tree.
Semicircle formation
After several minutes of nonstop firing, Balute said he noticed that the gunmen were in a semicircle formation and were approaching their location.
Balute and Roniño Gibe, a contractual forester with EDC’s corporate responsibility department, were the only survivors of the five-member team.
The Kananga police vowed “no cover-up,” saying the interrogation “will be solely based on facts.”
Senior Insp. Joel Camacho, the police chief, said on Thursday that he was directed by Chief Supt. Arnold Revilla, the police regional director, to conduct a thorough probe.
Camacho said he had invited Lt. Col. Federico Tutaan, commanding officer of the 19th Infantry Battalion, and the soldiers involved in the reported encounter with the communist New People’s Army (NPA) rebels to appear at the police station. The unit is based in Barangay Aguiting, Kananga, 21 kilometers from Ormoc City.
“We will ask them what really transpired,” Camacho said.
Ballistic test
Camacho requested Tutaan to surrender all the firearms used by the soldiers so these could be subjected to ballistic examination.
Tutaan had earlier said he would welcome any investigation and maintained that his men were in the area as part of legitimate military operations.
In a phone patch interview from Camp Aguinaldo, Tutaan said his troops had a clear vision of the rebels and could hear them talking from closer positions. He said the soldiers even put up an observation post for 30 minutes before firing.
The firefight lasted 10 to 12 minutes, Tutaan said, and it was only when the troops searched the area that they found the victims and two survivors. He described the scene as thickly forested, and 800 to 1,000 meters away from a clearing.
Tutaan said his men did not expect the presence of any civilians, including animal trappers and loggers.
Inconsistent accounts
Tutaan noted inconsistencies in the accounts of the two survivors, Balute and Gibe.
“I don’t know where he got that it was a one-way gunfire, whether he was hearing or conscious only about one way, but the other witness said that there was (gunfire) everywhere. He even said it was like New Year, and his hand gestures described the gunfire as coming from left and right,” Tutaan said.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the communist-led National Democratic Front (NDF) in Eastern Visayas said it did not believe that an encounter occurred between the NPA and the soldiers and that Co’s team was caught in a crossfire.
Fr. Santiago Salas, the NDF regional spokesperson, said the civilians were fired upon indiscriminately by the soldiers.
He said it was highly improbable for Co’s group to accidentally stray near an NPA camp or an NPA unit on maneuvers and suddenly find themselves in a crossfire. The camps are well-hidden and highly secured, he said.
Salas said the NPA’s Mt. Amandewin Command in Leyte would be investigating the incident to determine what really happened to help attain justice for the victims.
House probe
Militant lawmakers asked the House human rights committee to investigate the killing of Co and his two companions.
“Something has to be done on the orientation, training and the rules of engagement being taught to soldiers. There are now too many cases of soldiers and even police shooting first and asking questions later. Is it another case of shoot first, ask questions later?” Rep. Teodoro Casiño asked.
“If they are trigger-happy, then they need to be punished. This rampant practice of the Armed Forces has led to innumerable whitewashes and cover-ups, and it has to be stopped,” Rep. Neri Colmenares said.
In filing House Resolution No. 660, the two Bayan Muna party-list lawmakers branded the case as yet another “extrajudicial killing.”
A few good men
Congress, they said, must ascertain the truth, “considering that despite the change in the administration, extrajudicial killings of suspected rebels by state security forces remain unabated.”
“Such an investigation is warranted in order for Congress to craft measures and make recommendations to put a stop to the killings,” they said.
Anakpawis party-list Rep. Rafael Mariano, who filed House Resolution No. 653 seeking a similar probe, said Co’s death “is a big loss for the country since we have only a few taxonomists in the country.” With reports from Cynthia D. Balana and Michael Lim Ubac
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