In the morning of July 3, 2008, Rose Anne Gumanoy and younger sister Fatima set out to meet their mother Maria in a mall in Alabang, Muntinlupa, south of Manila. They failed to reach their destination and instead sent an SMS (short message system) to their mother that they have been taken by soldiers.
In the morning of July 3, 2008, Rose Anne Gumanoy and younger sister Fatima set out to meet their mother Maria in a mall in Alabang, Muntinlupa, south of Manila. They failed to reach their destination and instead sent an SMS (short message system) to their mother that they have been taken by soldiers.
Mrs. Maria Gumanoy immediately sought the help of Karapatan-Southern Tagalog (ST) to search for her daughters. On July 4, a Quick Reaction Team was organized by Karapatan’s National and Southern Tagalog Offices in response to Maria’s request. The team headed by Fr. Dionito Cabillas, accompanied Maria to the office of the Intelligence Services of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP). The ISAFP denied that the military has custody of Rose Anne and Fatima.
The team also reported the incident and filed a police blotter report to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group of the Philippine National Police (CIDG-PNP) in Camp Crame in Quezon City.
In the afternoon of the same day, Philippine Army spokesperson Col. Ernesto Torres issued a statement denied the abduction of the Gumanoy sisters, admitted however that the two women are with them but refused to reveal the their whereabouts. They went so far as to concoct stories that Rose Anne had sought voluntary custody from the military because they were afraid of Karapatan.
On July 5, after obtaining information on the whereabouts of her daughters, Maria and the QRT went to the Philippine Army Hospital in Fort Bonifacio where she was able to see her daughters, along with her cousin Emily Abalos. Before she was able to see her daughters, she said the soldiers subjected her to a body search which was degrading. "Kulang na lang hubaran nila ako. (They almost stripped me naked.)
During her visit, they were tightly guarded by the soldiers. The mother and daughters were not given the chance to talk on their own. Maria asked her daughters if it was true that they were seeking refuge to the military. But before they could answer, a woman soldier by the name of Weng Arcel kept interjecting and was the one answering Maria’s questions for Fatima.
She tried to take Fatima with her but a military doctor who refused to give her name, prevented Fatima from going with her mother, saying that she is under observation for urinary tract infection (UTI).. Maria insisted that she would be the one to have her daughter treated and with a doctor of their own choice.
The next day, the same doctor told Maria that Fatima contracted German measles.
About four months ago, on April 15, Rose Anne was wounded when soldiers open fired on the house of Moises Carcer in General Nakar in Quezon province. The indiscriminate firing resulted to the instant death of Eliza Pera, Rose Ann’s friend, and Moises’ twelve-year old daughter Monica. Nerissa, Cristine and Monina Carcer were wounded but survived the attack. The military claimed it was an encounter with NPA rebels and during her detention in V. Luna Medical Hospital, forced Rose Anne to admit that she was a member of the New People’s Army.
The military filed a rebellion case against Rose Anne but she was able to post bail on May 29. A bench warrant was issued for her after she failed to attend a scheduled hearing while she was still being secured from military harassment. Furthermore, the bench warrant was lifted.
Rose Anne and Fatima Gumanoy are the daughters of peasant leader Eddie Gumanoy who was killed by state security forces while conducting a fact-finding mission in Mindoro Occidental in April 2003. They are still in military custody as of this writing.###