Ifugao’s William Bugatti latest victim; police clueless: Group condemns rising cases of activists’ murders
>> Monday, April 7, 2014
By Kimberlie Quitasol
KIANGAN, Ifugao – A cause-oriented group
condemned rising cases of extrajudicial killings of activists and development
workers allegedly by State agents the latest,
a development worker of Ifugao.
The “political and brutal
murder” of development worker William Bugatti was deplorable, the groups said,
saying the victim was shot three times at his back allegedly by
State agents while driving home on his motor bike to Nayon along Barangay Bolog
here evening of March 25,” even as Ifugao police said they are still clueless
on the murder.
Imelda D. Tabiando,
spokesperson of DEFEND! Stop Harassment and Persecution of Development Workers
and NGOs said Bugatti was
the latest monitored killing of a human
rights defender and activist development worker.by State security forces.
Supt. John
Colinio, Ifugao police director in a text message said no witness has surfaced
yet and that they have not gathered any solid evidence to point to whoever
killed Bugatti.
Bugatti
was officer in charge of the Ifugao Research Development Center (IRDC) and a
paralegal of the Cordillera Human Rights Alliance (CHRA) before he was killed.
Colinio
said the police task force is doing its best to resolve the killing. “Our task
force is engaging with office mates, neighbors, relatives and friends of
William if they could shed light on the incident, hoping we could extract
valuable information,” Colinio said.
Lawyer
Jennifer Assuncion, vice chairperson of the CHRA raised a problem with the
police task force's investigation approach. “Why should they put the burden of
shedding light to the killing on the office mates and relatives of the victim?
It is the police's job to find evidences that would lead to the arest and
prosecution of the perpetrators,” she stressed.
Assuncion
said office mates and relatives are also victims grieving for the loss of their
loved ones and all they want is for justice to served. “We demand for the
conduct of an impartial and competent investigation so that the culprits will
be brought to the bar of justice,” she said.
Assuncion
cited a court ruling in the James Balao case where the court found the police
investigation insufficient because they only relied on the information the
colleagues and family of Balao gathered.
She said
Bugatti's case was similar, and police were only looking at information they could extract from office
mates and relatives of Bugatti.
Bugatti's
colleagues in an indignation rally last week pointed to state security forces
as perpetrators saying that Bugatti earlier figured in the target list of the
86th IB stationed in
Ifugao at the time that the CHRA got a copy of in 2012. He was listed as number
21 and labeled as utak ng NPA.
Gen. Roger
Salvador in an earlier interview denied the involvement of the Philippine Army
in the killing of Bugatti.
He claimed
that Bugatti was at odds with the NPA for spending some of his revolutionary
tax collections for personal use.
Salvador
also said being included in a target list does not mean you will get killed.
In an
interview in a television network, Salvador said those who figured in a
military list just need to go to the army and clear their names.
This as DEFEND, in a
statement, said human rights abuses and extrajudicial killings were up
nationwide.
On March 15, Romeo
Capalla of the Panay Free Trade Center of Iloilo was reportedly shot at close
range. And on March 3 was the massacre of Licuben Ligiw and his two sons Freddie and Eddie of the Lenneng
–KillengTinguian Farmers Association in Baay Licuan, Abra.
“The continuing and
increasing incidence of extra judicial killings under the Aquino Regime seem to
affirm that this may in fact be policy as part of OPLAN Bayanihan,” Tabiando
said.
William was reportedly
a down to earth activist development worker and human rights defender.
He served in different
Ifugao people’s organizations and was for
genuine development of marginalized communities.
He was coordinator of
Bayan Muna Party List, officer of Ifugao Peasant Movement and representative to
the Cordillera People’s Alliance and the Cordillera Human Rights Alliance.
Bugatti was reportedly
a reliable facilitator for priority community development projects of people’s
organizations and NGOs, and was at one time head of the Ifugao Research and
development Center.
He was an ardent
advocate of genuine people’s development that criticized and opposed
development aggression, anti people programs of government, corruption and dole
out, as well as militarization that adversely affected normal day to day
village life.
“The extra judicial
killing of William, as in the other cases, point to State military forces and
agents as perpetrator. William was harassed,
surveilled, vilified, tagged as NPA supporter, and listed in roster as enemy of
the State.
He was No. 21 in a list of 28 alleged ‘brains and supporters of the NPA’ that
was circulated by the military in the municipality of Tinoc, Ifugao last
October 2012. In all these, William steadfastly pursued his activist
development work, politics of Indigenous Peoples Rights and self determination,
and Human Rights advocacy and services.”
Tabiando said the
“present counter insurgency in the Cordillera of targeting activists for
neutralization, reminds of a similar situation
about ten years ago when State security agents cowardly killed many activists, among whom were Romy Sanchez, Markus Bangit, Alyce Claver,
Albert Terredano, Pepe Manegdeg and later the abduction and disappearance of
James Balao.”
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