Int’l Human Rights Day countdown: Tuwid na daan, wakasan
"We demand the immediate pull-out of troops from Lumad communities to stop the exodus of people from the villages and to let the bakwit (evacuees) go home for the holidays," Karapatan Secretary General Cristina Palabay said, as Karapatan criticized the BS Aquino regime’s callousness on the plight of the thousands of Lumad in evacuation centers in Mindanao.
Int’l Human Rights Day countdown: Tuwid na daan, wakasan
"We demand the immediate pull-out of troops from Lumad communities to stop the exodus of people from the villages and to let the bakwit (evacuees) go home for the holidays," Karapatan Secretary General Cristina Palabay said, as Karapatan criticized the BS Aquino regime’s callousness on the plight of the thousands of Lumad in evacuation centers in Mindanao.
On November 28, more than a hundred residents of Brgy. Mangayon, Compostela, Compostela Valley left their homes and are temporarily housed in a barangay center in Davao City. About 33 families and 147 students of the Salugpongan Ta ‘Tanu Igkanugon Community Learning Center (STTCLC) left the community because of the 66th Infantry Battalion’s encampment. The soldiers threatened and harassed people. Despite dialogue with the troops’ commander, Lt. Danjo Lagula, the soldiers refused to move away from the civilian houses.
"While the Aquino administration pretended not to hear our demands during the 30-day Manilakbayan, it continues its fascist attacks in our communities. Aquino’s ‘daang matuwid’ has to end. The people, especially the Lumad, will lead Aquino on the road to prison," said Manilakbayan spokesperson Kerlan Fanagel.
In 2015 alone, there are at least 19 incidents of forced evacuation and 7,000 documented victims in Mindanao, Southern Tagalog and Cagayan Valley. The figure does not include the large number of evacuees displaced after Aquino and ‘kabarkada’ Alan Purisima’s Mamasapano carnage in January 2015.
The majority of the more than 7,000 evacuees came from the Caraga region; most of them are at the Tandag Sports Complex for three months now. The almost a thousand evacuees in the UCCP-Haran in Davao City are from Talaingod and Kapalong, Davao del Norte, and from Bukidnon who arrived in UCCP-Haran by batches since January 2015.
“Forced evacuation due to intensified military and paramilitary counterinsurgency operations has brought so much damage to the lives of the Filipinos, especially among children," Palabay said.
"The continuing attack against Lumad communities and schools, including the recent evacuation in Compostela, show both the hypocrisy and desperation of the US-Aquino regime, especially with Oplan Bayanihan’s failure,” added Fanagel.
Karapatan called on the public to assist the 150 Lumad of Brgy. Mangayon, Compostela, Compostela Valley. The evacuees are still looking for another place to stay. "They need blankets, water, and food. We are asking for support from those with generous hearts," Palabay said.