LAGAWE, Ifugao -- The Regional
Development Council in Cordillera is deferring action on a proposed resolution
seeking the removal of seven Igorots from the terrorist list of the Department
of Justice, pending written recommendation of intelligence agencies in the
region.
The Philippine National Police, Philippine Army, National
Intelligence Coordinating Agency and other intelligence agencies in Cordillera
convened on Monday evening to discuss the issue, National Economic Development
Authority regional director Milagros Rimando, who co-chairs the RDC, said.
“They convened and discussed with
intelligence personnel before they can clarify in writing their stand in
relation to the RDC-RPOC passing a similar resolution. We hope to get their
recommendation at the soonest, so that we can schedule a special meeting,” she
said.
Following their Monday meeting,
the heads of the 5th Infantry Division (51D) and the Police Regional Office
Cordillera requested the RDC to delay the recommendation on the delisting of
the seven Igorots from the DOJ's terrorist list.
5Ist ID commander Maj. Gen. Perfecto Rimando and Cordillera
police regional director Chief Supt. Rolando Nana both sought to communicate
first with the DOJ to find out the reason for the seven Cordillerans' inclusion
in the terrorist list, which named 600 persons in all.
The seven Cordillerans, including a United Nations Special
Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Victoria “Vicky” Tauli-Corpuz,
are on the DOJ list of alleged officers and members of the communist groups.
The
six others are human rights lawyer Jose Molintas, Joanna Cariño, Windel
Farag-ey Bolinget, Sherwin De Vera, Beverly Sakongan Longid, and Jeannette
Ribaya Cawiding.
“They could not have been tagged as terrorists without a
reason. We want to know why they were branded as such. We hope to study
further,” Rimando said.
The police official said tagging people involves certain
mechanisms and due diligence is needed before recommending a deletion of their
names.
“There should be a mechanism and supporting detail why we
will recommend their delisting,” he said.
The officials said it is not easy to tag a person as a
terrorist and is even more difficult to delist him or her.
Earlier,
the Baguio City Council approved a resolution seeking the deletion of the seven
Igorots' names from the terrorist list. A similar resolution was also passed by
Sagada in Mountain Province.
Mountain Province provincial administrator lawyer Amador
Batay-an added that the tagging affects the whole region, thus the need to
immediately act on it.
“ It puts not only some provinces
but the region in a bad light to be declared that there are some terrorists
coming from our region. While it is true that there are some activists, these
are not terrorists, they are fighting for rights of their people but they are
not terrorists. To equate activism with terrorism is also unfair to those who
are fighting for the rights of their brothers and sisters in the Cordillera,” Batay-an
said. -- PNA
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