Ifugao’s William Bugatti latest victim; police clueless: Group condemns rising cases of activists’ murders

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 86^th 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.”