Workers ‘harassed, detained’: Abra town execs hit for stopping NGO projects

DAGUIOMAN, Abra – Cause-oriented groups and students from the University of the Philippines assailed municipal officials here for branding them members of the New People’s Army saying they were “practically detained” in municipal grounds and harassed by a police officer.

This was bared by the Cordillera Human Rights Alliance saying barring development workers from implementing projects especially in poorest communities not only violates the their rights but the people's right to development.

Audrey Beltran, CHRA deputy secretary general told a press conference May 23 in Baguio City the Daguioman municipal council approved a resolution barring development workers from the Center for Development Programs in the Cordillera (CDPC) from implementing their projects in the town.

She said the CHRA received reports from CDPC staff  how the town council called them to a meeting to supposedly to discuss their proposed projects in Dagioman.

During the council meeting, town officials reportedly labeled them as NPAs and told them they cannot continue with their projects.

Beltran said local government officials should recognize  needs of their municipality and the people's right to economic development.

Beltran said directly associating CDPC staff as members of the NPA was wrong because it removes them from the protection of the law that could lead to more human rights violations against them.

“The presence of the NPA in Dagioman or in Abra is an indication of the poverty and lack of government services in the province and vilifying development workers is not the answer,” Beltran said.

Beltran urged local officials to call for resumption of  peace negotiations between the government and the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP)-National Democratic Front of Philippines (NDFP)-NPA towards a just and lasting peace.

She said the suspended peace talks was second substantive agenda on peace process on socio-economic reforms to correct unequal distribution of wealth and end chronic poverty.

Jane Yap-eo, executive director of CDPC said the CDPC staff and interns from the University of the Philippines Manila were in the area to continue profiling of communities because it was being considered for development projects.

She said the CDPC implements projects in support to agriculture and other livelihood projects identified by community folks.

“The projects are identified by the people based on their needs. We provide technical and financial support and educational and organizing assistance to set up the projects to equip the community to manage and sustain the projects.”

Yap-eo added they were also conducting research on climate change adaptation and pest management of the communities.

“For almost three decades now, CDPC had been to many far-flung communities in the Cordillera. We choose to service the least accessible and most neglected communities, villages that are not reached by government services because they are the ones who need assistance the most. And by doing this we have been vilified as members of the NPA but this is the first time that a municipal council barred us from serving their communities,” she said.

Yap-eo said vilification and harassment was not new to CDPC staff because they encountered this in almost all of their areas of implementation but she said harassment escalated in recent years.

“The harassment against our staff has escalated since 2012 and we now fear for our lives. Especially with the recent killing of our colleague William Bugatti in Ifugao last March. Like us he was vilified and harassed, included in a military target and later was extrajudicially killed,” she said.

Yap-eo said escalating harassment and vilification is disrupting the work of CDPC staff and causing them emotional stress.

“But this does not mean we will give up on the people of Daguioman. We will continue to engage town officials and make them realize that we are a legitimate non-government organization working for genuine development. The people of Daguioman need us,” she said. 

John Carlo Mercado, one of the CDPC interns from UP Manila said it was wrong to label UP students as NPAs.

He said  a police officer present in the council meeting harassed them. “The same police officer made hasty and dangerous generalization that UP students are NPAs.” 

Mercado added while they expected to be branded as NPAs because they were UP students, they did not know the gravity of it until they experienced it in Daguioman. “We were really shocked. We were practically detained in the municipal grounds after the council meeting. We were followed and harassed by the police officer,” he said.