From the Website of MILF
LBO conducts Press Conference on Gokotan incident; urges PNP Regional Director’s Tagum resignation
Cotabato City (January 25, 2022) -The League of Bangsamoro
Organizations (LBO) have urged BGen. Alexander Tagum to resign as Region
12 Director of the Philippine National Police (PNP) amid the police
bloody operation in Barangay Gokotan, Pikit, North Cotabato at dawn of
December 29, 2021.
This statement was made by LBO chair of Peace Unity and
Reconciliation Mahdi Amella during a press conference on January 24,
2022 at Darul Aman Function Hall in Barangay Capiton, Datu Odin Sinsuat
Maguindanao.
In his opening statement,
Chairman Amella said that the press conference is intended to voice-out
the sentiments of the Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and the
affected community on the plight of the residents of Gokotan who were
victims of un-coordinated raid conducted by PNP 12 under the direct
command and supervision of Gen. Tagum that resulted to the death of
innocent civilians, lootings and destruction of their properties.
“Ang
original na schedule ng solidarity visit was on January 23, kahapon at
ang plano ay magkakaroon muna ng Caravan o motorcade mula Cotabato City
hanggang Pikit na dadaluhan na mahigit kumulang one hundred na mga
sasakyan dahil magkakaroon tayo ng peaceful condemnation rally sa Pikt
Plaza tapos may Press Con sa Municipal Session hall ng Pikit at tutuloy
tayo sa Gokotan upang magkaroon ng dialogue sa mga opisyales ng Barangay
at kakausapin na rin natin ang mga relatives ng mga biktima para
mabigyan din natin sila ng kaunting ayuda subalit hindi ho natuloy ang
nasabing mission sapagkat nag declared ng IATF national kung saan ang
North Cotabato ay napabilang sa level 3 category ng Covid 19 kaya na
cancelled ang nasabing rally pati na rin ang iba pang mga aktibidades”
(The
original schedule of the solidarity visit was on January 23, yesterday.
The original plan was to have Caravan or motorcades from Cotabato City
to Pikit that would be attended by about one hundred vehicles because we
will have a peaceful condemnation rally at Pikit Plaza, followed by a
Press Conference at the Municipal Session hall of Pikit afterwards the
team would proceed to the site of the incident in Barangay Gokotan to
have a dialogue with the Barangay officials. We will also have to talk
with the relatives of the victims so that we can also give them few
assistance but the said mission did not pushed through when the Inter
Agency Task Force on Covid 19 (IATF) declared that North Cotabato
province is under level 3 category, that is why the conduct of the
condemnation rally as well as other activities were canceled. Amella
said.
“Ang panawagan po natin dito sa LBO ay mabigyan
talaga ng hustisya itong karumal - dumal na pagpatay sa mga inosenting
sibilyan. Sinabi natin na karumal dumal sapagkat bukod sa malapitan ang
pagkakabaril, double dead iyong nangyari kasi paulit ulit iyong pag
baril na pwedi naman mamatay ang isang tao kahit isang bala lang lalo na
pag sa ulo ito matamaan ng bala” (Our call here at the LBO is for the
justice to be served for this barbaric murder of innocent civilians.
It’s a barbaric because apart from the closed range shooting, we found
out that it was a “double dead”, (over kill). One could die even if
it’s just one single bullet, especially if a person is hit at the head.
But what exactly happened is that the victims were hit by multiple
bullets with his brain blown out), Amella added.
He
also warned of the possibility of another Mamasapano incident in 2016 if
the PNP continues to violate the GPH and MILF ceasefire agreement.
“We
call upon the PNP and the military to coordinate all their operations
with the Adhoc Joint Action Group (AHJAG) to avoid missed encounter
similar to the Mamasapano incident”.
“LBO is not
opposed in the serving of the arrest warrant to criminals as long as it
does not violate the ceasefire agreement and civilians are not harmed,
so all military or police operations should be coordinated with AHJAG
and CCCH to preserve the gains of the peace process between the
government and the MILF so that peace and harmony will be reign in our c
ommunities’.
“Tayo din ay nababahala dahil sa
kasalukuyan, hindi po na kompleto ang isang bahagi ng kasunduan ng
goberno at ng MILF, patungkol sa decommissioning o pag turn-over ng
armas ng mga combatant’s ng MILF sa Independent Decommissioning Body
(IDB). Tayoy nangangamba na mahihirapan tayong I- convince ang mga
combatants ng MILF kung patuloy itong mangyayari dahil baka gawing rason
ito ng mga elements ng MILF dahil wala silang kasiguraduhan na ma
proteksionan sila ng mga kapulisan kung mawawala na ang kanilang mga
armas.”
(We are also concerned because at present,
part of the agreement between the government and the MILF, is the
decommissioning of MILF combatants that is yet to be completed. We fear
that it would be difficult for us to convince the MILF combatants if
violations continue to happen because MILF combatants have no guarantee
that the police will be able to protect them once they lose their
weapons.
The LBO also issued a Manifesto that reads:
The
Manifesto read by Emran Mohamad, LBO Spokesman, said that “the
continuing disrespect of the existing ceasefire protocols by state
forces can be capitalized by third parties who are spoilers of GPH-MILF
peace process to justify their actions in disrupting the gains of the
peace process. Moreover, he said, the Gokotan incident can be a fertile
ground for these third parties to recruit even from the ranks of MILF
to seek for justice and eventually disregard the peace process. This
violence must be stopped”.
“Considering the foregoing, he
said, We the Civil Society Organizations under the umbrella of the
League of the Bangsamoro Organizations manifest the following:
1. We
condemn in highest possible terms the brutal killings of the MILF
members and civilians borne out of disrespect to the existing ceasefire
protocols;
2. We
call on Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte to create an independent probe body to
conduct a full-blown investigation of the Gokotan raid and immediately
relieve General Tagum;
3. We
call on the GPH-MILF peace implementing panels to immediately convene
to address the Gokotan killings and formulate mechanism to avoid the
repeat of this violence
4. We
request the BARMM government and North Cotabato provincial Government
to extend full assistance to the bereaved families of the Gokotan
victims.
5. We
call on the affected families to remain steadfast, continue to respect
the rule of law, and trust our leaders in their efforts to bring justice
to the victims, Mohammad stressed.
Testimony of a witness:
In
the later part of the Press Conference, an unexpected participant
Norsalam Dalid; suddenly appeared, and requested the organizer of the
Press Con to give her an opportunity to talk to media to air her call
for justice for the “brutal killing of his father Badrudin Dalid and her
sister Arbaya Panisares. She emotionally expressed her sentiments
about the incident in Gokotan.
“Bandang alas dos na nang medaling araw noong December 29, 2021 nagising na lang kami dahil sa mga putok ng baril.
Pinagbabaril ng mga pulis ang mga kabahayan at patay na rin ang mga ilaw sa labas dahil pinagbabarili na rin nila ito kaya itinakas kami ng tatay namin na si Badrudin doon kami dumaan sa gate sa likod ng bahay, nauna ang tatay namin at pinagbabaril na kami lahat ng mga pulis kaya unang tinamaan at namatay ang ama naming kasama din si ate na tinamaan ng bala habang bitbit niya ang kanyang tatlong gulang na anak kasama din ang isang anim na gulang na anak ni Arbaya Panisares”
Pinagbabaril ng mga pulis ang mga kabahayan at patay na rin ang mga ilaw sa labas dahil pinagbabarili na rin nila ito kaya itinakas kami ng tatay namin na si Badrudin doon kami dumaan sa gate sa likod ng bahay, nauna ang tatay namin at pinagbabaril na kami lahat ng mga pulis kaya unang tinamaan at namatay ang ama naming kasama din si ate na tinamaan ng bala habang bitbit niya ang kanyang tatlong gulang na anak kasama din ang isang anim na gulang na anak ni Arbaya Panisares”
(At
around two o'clock on the morning of December 29, 2021, we woke up due
to sounds of gunfire, so we immediately went outside passing through the
back gate but our father was the first to be hit by the police and died
immediately along with my sister, Arbaya Panisares while she was
carrying her three year old son and her six year old daughter)”
Norsalam
also reiterated her call for President Duterte to help them seek
justice for the death of her father and sister who are victims of human
rights violations. Nananawagan kami kay Presidente na sanay makamit
namin ang hustisya para sa pamilya namin.” We call on the President to
help us achieve justice for our family”).
According to
Norsalam, their properties were also taken by the raiding team of Gen.
Tagum, hundreds of pawned motorbikes, main source of their livelihood
were confiscated. The police also allegedly confiscated their personal
belongings such as laptops, large amounts of money, gold as well as
their cellphones and the entire household inside the compound were
looted and destroyed. All their belongings were stolen and those things
that still remain which are not useful to them were totally damaged.
They also stole her mother’s pan, even the ducks were not spared.
When asked about the police allegations that the motorcycles were car nap/motor nap, she strongly denied their allegations.
Hindi
totoong mga carnap ang mga motor na sinanla sa amin. Ang katibayan
meron kaming business permit at meron ndin kaming certification mula sa
BIR” (It is not true that the motors pawned to us were carnap. The proof
is that we have a business permit and we also have a certification from
the BIR.
Meanwhile, UNYPAD Secretary General and LBO
Vice President for Internal Affairs Yosuph Lumambas stressed the stand
of the UNYPAD being a member of the Third Party Monitoring Team (TPMT)
that they will recommend to the TPMT to sign an exit agreement should be
no fill implementation of the peace agreement.
TPMT
is an independent body mandated to monitor, review and assess the
implementation of all GPH-MILF signed agreements, primarily the
Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) and its Annexes. Including
normalization.
Moving forward:
LBO also
called for an impartial investigations not just rely on the result of
the investigation conducted by the Intelligence Assistance Service (IAS)
so the result of the investigation is credible, thus acceptable to all
parties It will continue the call for the resignation of Region 12 PNP
Director General Tagum.
Through the Committee on
Advocacy and Lobbying, LBO will initiate dialogue with members of the
Bangsamoro Parliament, including Congress if needed. They will also
call the attention of Human Rights Commission and other concern
institutions to file an appropriate charges against the PNP Regional
Director and his team for the human rights civilians they have
committed. LBO assures the family of victims to heed their call for the
President to intervene for the immediate resolutions of this case.
MILF Website
Article links:
BANGSAMORO FRAMEFORK
http://www.opapp.gov.ph/sites/default/files/House%20Bill%20No.%204994.pdf
http://www.opapp.gov.ph/resources/house-bill-no-4994
OTHER HUMAN RIGHTS PROMOTIONS WEBSITES
Human Rights Advocacy Promotions | Human Rights
http://www.humanrightspromotions.co.nr
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