Sagada folks hit army red- tagging; form peace group

Priest: We were tagged as NPA supporters 

By Gina Dizon

SAGADA, Mountain Province – Local folks here tagged by the Philippine Army as “persons of interest” or under order of battle”  recently formed a multi-sectoral organization called Sagada Peace and Development Initiatives (SPDI) here as support group to the Municipal Peace and Order Council.
    They assailed red-tagging saying it brought fear and intimidation among the people, saying they could be targets of state repression. 
    To address this, the SPDI formed its council of leaders of three representatives from each of five zones of the municipality this August to address issues such as insurgency, boundary conflicts among other matters related to communities and the people.
    Convenor Indigenous Peoples Mandatory Representative (IPMR) Jaime Dugao in facilitating dialogues, said “community interest was paramount.”
    This, following “manifesto for the common good” early this year signed during a dialogue of identified ‘persons of interest’ with the 54th Infantry Battalion here.
    Manifesto signatories said they come from various sectors of society- farmers, youth, government officials, media practitioners, business, drivers and people’s organizations and are law-abiding citizens.
    The manifesto stated:
    “We speak as individual members and as a group living in the community of Sagada.  As individual residents from different barangays of the municipality of Sagada who were born, grew up and/or stayed for quite some time, we came to belong, know and love our own people and our own place, and our own ways of collective life.
    In the course of time, events came which saw community people addressing these whether economic, political or religious. New happenings, new experiences which were taken in with discrete accommodation, embracing the good, doing away with what is not good while   keeping our cultural ways and values intact.”
    An earlier dialogue with the 54th IB stationed here was met with queries of how the “persons of interest” were identified and why they were invited.
    54th Infantry IB Charlie Company commander 1^st Lt. Col. Keith Paquibot said names were given to them by “higher headquarters.”
    Said dialogues conducted by Mayor James Pooten Jr invited “persons of interest” identified by the military to have an audience with the 54th IB stationed here who requested said meeting February this year.
    In the dialogue, Paquibot said “matters have to be cleared”.
    This writer, one among those identified ‘persons of interest’ asked matters to be cleared.
    “We’re here to listen if there is participation or not .to the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army” Paquibot said.
    Particular details of being red-tagged were not adequately answered by the army personnel.
    The 54^th military elements stationed here said they “don’t know”.        
    Paquibot asked for affidavits whether or not there is participation or non-support to the CPP-NPA.
    Fr. Charles Buking from the Episcopal Church in the Philippines (ECP) who was invited to the event as a stakeholder on peace said priests had been tagged as NPA supporters because of the church’s advocacy to help.
    Convenor of said multi-sectoral group and former mayor Thomas Killip was surprised that he was included as a “person of interest” even if he stayed long in government as a municipal official and also with Office of the Presidential Assistant for Peace Process (OPAPP) as a consultant.
    Driver David Sumedca told the military elements to tell their assets not to retag individuals without valid evidence since red-tagged persons feel threatened and fear relating with people and groups which is not beneficial to community life.  
    One among those identified as ‘person of interest,’ barangay chairman Langbay Suyon said  “such does not do any good to the public as it disrupts community service.” 
    Martin Bacgalang, community leader and farmer said it is cultural and social in nature to help each other in community concerns like livelihood.  
    Michael Baani who chairs the Binaod organic farmers’ organization seconded saying farming is a way of life and livelihood ever since and where farmers come together as a group to address their concerns.
    Earlier, local-based institutions including Montanosa Research and Development Center (MRDC) and Inayan Watch, a women’s group were red-tagged by the Philippine National Police under former PNP regional director Erwin Pagkalinawan.
    Red-tagging as threat to human and peoples’ rights and peoples’ organizations was a common sentiment aired in a dialogue with the PNP and red-tagged organizations two years ago.
    Peace advocate Killip during the February dialogue this year said, “Sometimes we also have to criticize government as part of democratic rights and processes that we protect for the good of the country and people”.
    Fr. Marcs Castaneda of the Roman Catholic Church who was invited as one among peace stakeholders in the February dialogue said activism for the common good was not bad.
    Persons of interest are “persons in order of battle,” Lt. Col Guillermo Panopio of the Community Military Operations of the 5^th ID said in the provincial  activity last July.
    Panopio said persons of interest can be called “resource persons.”
    Said provincial culminating activity facilitated by the 54th IB was done with the presence of   Bishop Brent Alawas, representatives from the provincial governor, vice governor and Dept. Interior and Local Government, elements from the 54th IB and some ‘persons of interest” with all attendees saying a pledge of peace.      
    Sagada in the early 70s on to the 80s had been visited by elements of the New People’s Army who engaged in friendly relations with the people.  
    NPAs then walked freely in the villages, prohibited stealing and gambling, worked with the people, farmed the fields and ate and slept in their homes.
    In October 1988, the military and the NPA engaged in hostilities within the residential zone here. A 12-year- old died in the crossfire.
    Up to now, it has not yet been determined where the shots came from that killed the victim. Another incident involved the killing of an innocent 15-year-old boy by a drunken government soldier at the market compound in the same year of 1988.
    With the bloody incidents, folks unilaterally declared Sagada as a demilitarized zone with the banning of all armed groups -- whether government soldiers or rebels -- and not allowed to enter the town.
    This was followed by the declaration of Sagada as one among a few identified special development zones in the country by the government with a P5 million waterworks fund set for Sagada in the early ‘90s.  
    The ‘90s on to 2000, local folks made Sagada a peace zone. The military and NPA were told to get out and not camp in town. .
    But the peace zone was often violated by both armed groups with hostilities within the town’s territory over the years.
In 2020, the 54th IB camped at Langsayan hills located between Sagada and Besao and people let them be.
SPDI members said they will address issues on insurgency, boundary conflicts among other issues and concerns in the community.
    This, considering six villages of Sagada had been identified as End Local Communist Armed Conflict (ELCAC) barangays namely Bangaan, Pide, Fidelisan, Aguid, Madongo and Ankileng along with three other barangays in Bontoc town and three others in the municipality of Bauko. ELCAC barangays are qualified to be provided with development funds. 
    Community leader Gwen Gaongen, one among red-tagged “persons of interest,” said peace process should be hastened.