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FEATURES/MeloCommissionReport-4/Jan. 22, 2007
INDEPENDENT COMMISSION Created under Administrative Order No. 157 (s. 2006) R E P O R T x x x III. CASE STUDIES A. Profile of VictimsThe majority of the victims of the extrajudicial killings were members of the so-called left-wing organizations -- primarily Bayan Muna, Anakpawis, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, Karapatan and KPD (Kilusan para sa Pambansang Demokrasya) and other cause-oriented groups like, for example, Task Force Mapalad and UNORKA (Ugnayan ng mga Nagsasariling Organisasyon sa Kanayunan) working for agrarian reform and other social justice issues. The Commission was given by Task Force Usig the files relating to fourteen (14) cases of extrajudicial killing of activists or militants which are supposed to be typical or representative of the cases under investigation by Task Force Usig. The records of said cases show a common pattern in the methodology of the attacks, the leftist profile of the victims or at least membership in a cause-oriented group, and the lack of progress in the investigation or prosecution of the case. The attacks in half of the cases were carried out by unidentified men riding on motorcycles and wearing bonnet masks (Sotero Llamas, Jose Doton, Noel Capulong, Victorina Gomez, Paquito Diaz, Elena Mendiola and Enrico Cabanit). On the leftist profile of the victims: The victims were members of Bayan Muna (Ruben Apolinario, Expedito Albarillo, Sotero Llamas, Noel Capulong, Elena Mendiola, Juanito Mesias, Jose Doton), Anakpawis (Tito Macabitas), and other cause-oriented groups, namely, Kapisanan Para Sa Pambansang Demokrasya (Analiza S. Abanador), Binodgan People's Organization, an active advocate against large-scale mining in Kalinga (Rafael Bangit), Confederation for Unity, Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees, a militant organization fighting for equal rights, better benefits and opportunities in government work places (Paquito Diaz), and UNORCA, an organization active in the implementation of the agrarian reform law (Enrico Cabanit). The cases have remained unsolved (Ruben Apolinar, Expedito Albarillo, Rafael Bangit, Noel Capulong, Victorina Gomez, Paquito Diaz). In five (5) of the cases, although criminal complaints against the suspects have been filed with the Office of the Public Prosecutor, the identification of the suspects is at best dubious (Annaliza Abanador, Sotero Llamas, Tito Macabitas, Elena Mendiola. With respect to the particular case of Enrico Cabanit, the alleged two eyewitnesses supposedly identified a certain Enrique Solon who, at the time of the identification, was already dead; the identification, to say the least, is highly questionable. The investigation in many of the cases has met a blank wall (Ruben Apolinar, Expedito Albarillo, Rafael Bangit, Noel Capulong, Victorina Gomez, Paquito Diaz). With respect to the cases pending preliminary investigation, the suspects are still at large (Annaliza Abanador, Sotero Llamas, Tito Macabitas, Elena Mendiola). It is only in one case (Jose Doton) where the accused has been arrested, but there is no indication in the police file as to the status of the case. 1. Ruben ApolinarRuben Apolinar was a Bayan Muna coordinator of San Teodoro, Oriental Mindoro, while his wife, Rodriga Apolinar, was a member of the Gabriela. While the spouses were sleeping with their eight-year old daughter at their house in Barangay Ilag, San Teodoro, Oriental Mindoro, at about 9:30 p.m. on May 20, 2002, unidentified persons riddled the house with bullets, killing all three. Sixty-three pieces of empty shells of M16 were recovered from the crime scene. The police never came up with any suspect; the case remains unsolved. 2. Annaliza S. Abanador Annaliza S. Abanador, 35 years old, single, was a militant leader and member of the Kapisanan Para Sa Pambansang Demokrasya (KPD) and former president of BATAS-ACT, a militant group. On May 18, 2006, at about 5:30 p.m., her body was discovered by a co-employee, riddled with multiple gunshot wounds, at the Dakki Sale Center in Balanga, Bataan, where she was working as an assistant personnel officer. Four (4) spent shells fired from a .45 calibre pistol and one (1) deformed .45 calibre slug were recovered from the crime scene. The police filed charges against the alleged suspects Allan Prado @ Ian and Jose Carabeo @ Toktok, reportedly both members of the CPP-NPA based on the identification of a tricycle driver who supposedly saw the suspects coming out of the Dakki Sale Center. The driver identified the suspects from photographs shown to him by the police. Based on said identification and without having apprehended the suspects remaining at large, the PNP filed a criminal complaint for murder with the Office of the City Prosecutor of Balanga City, Bataan, on May 30, 2006. 3. Expedito Albarillo Expedito Albarillo and his wife Emmanuela Albarillo were members of Bayan Muna. At about 6 a.m. at Sitio Ibuye, Brgy. Calsapa, San Teodoro, Oriental Mindoro, the spouses, after being hogtied and dragged from their house, were shot to death by eight (8) unidentified men, three of whom were wearing bonnets. The police report refers to the spouses as “lie-low members of CPP/NPA” and Expedito Albarillo was supposedly linked to the assassination of the late Mayor Oscar Aldaba of San Teodoro. The PNP obtained the statement of the mother of Expedito Albarillo that she was no longer interested in pursuing the investigation. It would seem that this is the reason why the police have stopped any further investigation. 4. Sotero Llamas Sotero Llamas joined the CPP/NPA during the martial law regime of President Marcos; he was forced to go underground because he was an active member of the Kabataang Makabayan. After he was captured in May 1995, he was granted amnesty under the Joint Agreement on Security and Immunity Guarantee. He thereafter served as political consultant for the NDF in the peace negotiations between the NDF and the GRP from 1997 to 2004. He also served as political affairs director of the Party List Bayan Muna. In the 2004 elections, he ran for in Albay but lost. On May 29, 2006, at about 8:30 a.m., while on board a multi-cab which was maneuvering to make a U-turn, three men on board a motorcycle approached the right side of the multi-cab and at close range fired several shots, hitting Llamas once on the head and thrice on the body while the driver sustained one gunshot wound on the right arm. Llamas was pronounced dead upon arrival in the hospital. Two alleged eyewitnesses, a male pedicab driver and a 19-year old female student, who were not named in the file, supposedly identified one of the gunmen as Edgardo Sevilla, allegedly a member of the Communist Terrorist group operating in the first and second districts of Albay. The two witnesses were supposedly presented before the Office of the Regional State Prosecutor and they affirmed their statements positively identifying Edgardo Sevilla and one Edgar Calag. According to the police, their intelligence report disclosed that Edgardo Sevilla is currently an NPA commander while Edgardo Calag, a discharged Philippine Army special forces member who went AWOL after killing his detachment commander, is “believed to be an NPA member operating in Albay and Sorsogon.” 5. Jose Doton Jose C. Doton was the Secretary General of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan Muna) and President of TIMMAWA (Tignay Ti Mannalon a Mangwayawaya ti Agno). At about 10:30 a.m. on May 16, 2006, while the victim and his brother, Cancio Doton, were on their way home on board a motorcycle, with the victim as backrider, two persons wearing helmets on board a motorcycle who were apparently tailing them fired several shots at them. The victim and his brother fell down. Thereafter, one of the gunmen approached Jose Doton who was lying on the ground and shot him in the head. He was rushed to a hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival. His brother was hit at the back but managed to survive. The incident happened on Anong Road, Sabangan River, Brgy Camanggan, San Nicolas, Pangasinan. A complaint for murder and frustrated murder has been filed against a certain Joel S. Flores because: (a) the motorcycle supposedly used in the killing is registered in his name; and (b) the .45 caliber pistol found in his possession when subjected to a ballistic examination turned out to be the one used in the shooting. According to the police report, “the identities of the suspects cannot be established as of this time since there are no witnesses who had surfaced to give an eyewitness account of the incident and that the motives for the killing cannot be established.” There is no report on the status of the case filed against Joel S. Flores. 6. Rafael Bangit On June 8, 2006, at about 3:30 p.m., Rafael Bangit, 45 years old, married, Secretary-General of Binodngan People's Organization and an active advocate against large-scale mining in Kalinga, and Chairman of Bayan-Muna-Kalinga Province, was a passenger on a bus bound for Baguio City from Tabuk, Kalinga. After the bus had a stopover for dinner in Brgy. Quezon, San Isidro, Isabela, and, as the passengers were about to board, a person wearing a black bonnet suddenly appeared and shot the victim, including Gloria Casuga, a school principal, who likewise sustained five gunshot wounds. The person who shot Rafael Bangit was with other armed men who fled on board a Delica van, which had apparently been tailing the bus since it left Tabuk, Kalinga. There has been no progress whatsoever in the investigation of the case. 7. Noel “Noli” Capulong Noel “Noli” Capulong, a Bayan Muna Laguna Chapter leader and a member of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP), was shot to death on May 27, 2006, at about 6 p.m. in Brgy. Parian, Calamba City, by two unidentified suspects riding on a motorcycle. One of the suspects who was the backrider alighted from the motorcycle and shot the victim at close range who was on board an owner-type jeep. The suspects were both wearing bonnets but the gunman supposedly wore the bonnet only as a headgear. As of May 2006, Capulong was the fourth member of the UCCP to be killed. A criminal complaint for murder is supposed to have been filed against a certain Alfredo Alinsunurin with the City Prosecutor's Office, Calamba City, but the file does not indicate the evidentiary basis for the charge. The respondent is at large. 8. Victorina Gomez Victorina Gomez, 63 years old, a widow, was the barangay captain of Brgy. Parian, Mexico, Pampanga. The shooting occurred at about 5:30 p.m. on December 16, 2005, while Ms. Gomez, together with Brgy. Kagawad Romeo Atienza, Brgy Kagawad Reynaldo Macabali, and other persons were walking towards her house after attending a meeting hosted by the 69 th Infantry Batallion, Philippine Army, held at the Mexico Gymnasium in Mexico, Pampanga. Two unidentified male suspects wearing helmets and riding a motorcycle were responsible for the killing. While one of the suspects kept the engine of the motorcycle running, the other walked towards Ms. Gomez and her companion and shot to death Ms. Gomez and Kagawad Romeo Atienza; Brgy. Kagawad Reynaldo Macabali was seriously wounded. Afterwards, the gunman immediately boarded the motorcycle and the assailants sped away. The gunman apparently used a cal 9 mm machine pistol with a silencer. Recovered from the crime scene were empty shells and deformed slugs from a suspected cal. 9 mm pistol. There has been no reported progress in the police investigation whatsoever. 9. Tito Macabitas Tito Macabitas was apparently associated with, if not an active member of, Anak Pawis “and on several occasions had been sighted in several rallies of the leftists here ( San Jose City ) and in Metro Manila.” He was employed as a utility worker or overseer at the Villa Ramos Resort and Hotel which is owned by Dr. Ben Reyes, a known Anak Pawis adviser. The resort is said to be a frequent venue of meetings of Anak Pawis and other leftist groups. On October 20, 2005, at about 10:10 p.m. while Tito Macabitas and his wife, Eva D. Macabitas, were in their residence at Brgy. Manicla, San Jose City, and while they were already in bed, they were awakened by a knock on their bedroom door. Evelyn, a niece of Tito Macabitas, informed the latter that somebody was looking for him. Tito Macabitas decided to go out to check, followed by his wife. Upon reaching the side of the house of Evelyn, the man looking for Tito Macabitas apparently asked the latter his name because his wife heard her husband saying that he was Tito Macabitas. At that juncture, the stranger shot Tito Macabitas and also his wife who was hit in the palm of her right hand. The assailant fled in a waiting vehicle. It is not clear whether it was a motorcycle, a car or a jeep; according to the wife “Mayroon pong maingay na motor na nakaparada sa malapit lang sa bahay ni Evelyn.” (Affidavit of Eva D. Macabitas). A criminal complaint for murder and frustrated murder has been filed against a certain Dindo Mendoza and two others (unidentified). Based on the story of one Armand Arce, he was allegedly asked by Dindo Mendoza at about 7 p.m. on October 20, 2005, to join in killing Tito Macabitas who supposedly discovered their extortion racket in collecting money from establishments by pretending to be members of the NPA and had threatened to report them to the authorities. According to Arce, he refused to join and that Dindo Mendoza with two companions left to proceed to Brgy. Maniola that night. Early morning of the following day, Armando Arce allegedly learned that Tito Macabitas had been gunned down. 10. Paquito “Pax” Diaz Paquito “Pax” Diaz, 42 years old, single, and supposedly an AWOL employee of the Department of Agrarian Reform, was shot and killed on July 6, 2006, at about 6 p.m. in Brgy. 54, Esperas Avenue, Tacloban City, by two motorcycle-riding male suspects. The back rider armed with a .45 caliber pistol apparently fitted with a silencer acted as the triggerman who shot the victim twice while the latter was waiting for a friend along Esperas Avenue. The driver of the motorcycle was wearing a helmet while the gunman was sporting a ball cap which partly covered his face. At the time of his death, Paquito “Pax” Diaz was the Chairperson of the Confederation for Unity, Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees (COURAGE-Eastern Visayas), a militant organization fighting for equal rights, better benefits and opportunities in government work places, and was allied with other progressive groups such as Alliance of Water Concessionaires (ALWAGON), Bayan Muna, Anak Pawis, Gabriela, Anak ng Bayan, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, and others. The COURAGE under the leadership of Mr. Diaz was then engaged in a legal battle between the Leyte Metro Water District Employees Association (LMWDEA), an affiliate of COURAGE, and the previous LMWD management under then General Manager Engr. Ranulfo C. Feliciano that was triggered by the alleged dismissal of 26 LMWD employees. Absolutely no progress has been reported. No witness could even give a description of the perpetrators to provide sufficient basis for a cartographic sketch because the driver of the motorcycle was wearing a helmet while the gunman had a ball cap on which partly covered his face. 11. Elena Mendiola Elena Mendiola, 54 years old, married, and the Secretary-General of Bayan Muna Isabela Chapter was shot six times in the head on May 10, 2006, at about 8 p.m., in Barangay Garit Sur, Echague, Isabela, by two male persons wearing black bonnet masks. Killed at the same time was her supposed “live-in” partner, Ricardo “Ric” Balauag, Bayan Muna Chairman, Municipality of Echague. The perpetrators fled on board a motorcycle. A witness, Bayani Villanueva, gave a supplemental statement dated June 1, 2006, that on May 10, 2006, at around 8 p.m., while on board his motorcycle going to the house of Ruby Corpuz in Barangay Garet Sur, Echague, Isabela, to meet with Ricardo Balauag he heard several bursts of gunfire prompting him to seek cover and at that juncture he saw two armed men in black sweaters riding in tandem on a sports-type motorcycle removing their bonnet masks while fleeing towards his direction. As the light of his motorcycle was still on, he was able to identify Renato Busania and Timoteo Corpuz whom he supposedly met on March 2, 2006, after he was told by Ricardo Balauag about the two persons frequenting his house and threatening him with harm if he failed to produce something. 12. Juanito Mesias Jr. Juanito Mesias, 28 years old, married, and a member of Bayan Muna Kananga Chapter, was killed on May 13, 2001, at about 11:30 p.m. in Barangay San Isidro, Kananga, Leyte. The victim, together with Danilo Gusando and other companions, while riding on their respective motorcycles and campaigning for their candidate, incumbent Mayor Giovanni Ed M. Nepari, was ambushed by the alleged suspects, Omar Sumodlayon, said to be a former NPA member, and Melquiades Sumodlayon. Mesias died on the spot while his companion Danilo Guisando was wounded. The case for murder and frustrated murder is pending trial before the Regional Trial Court of Ormoc City. The Task Force Usig file on the case given to this Commission does not indicate the underlying evidence in support of the case against the alleged suspects. 13. Enrico Cabanit Enrico Cabanit, married, and secretary-general of the Pambansang Ugnayan ng mga Nagsasariling Local na Organisasyon sa Kanayunan (UNORCA), an organization that is a staunch advocate of agrarian reform and social justice, was killed on April 24, 2006, at about 6-6:30 p.m. near the unloading area of fish-cars at the Panabo Premium Market in Panabo City, Davao Norte. Two unidentified persons riding in tandem on a motorcycle with no plate number were responsible. The backrider wearing a white upper basketball garment with his face partially covered with a piece of cloth alighted and shot Enrico Cabanit who, with his daughter Daffodil, was waiting for transportation. Enrico Cabanit died on the spot, but Daffodil was only wounded and she survived. A certain Enrique Solon who was killed in Gen. Santos on May 26, 2006, was identified by two alleged eyewitnesses – Ryan Catalan and Romeo Cabillo – as the gunman who shot and killed Enrico Cabanit. The identification of Enrique Solon as the gunman and killer of Enrico Cabanit is highly questionable and not credible. The two eyewitnesses, based on their statements, did not really get a good look at the gunman and could not have positively identified him by looking at the cadaver of Enrique Solon whose swollen face, based on the photograph looked markedly different from the face of the latter when he was alive. (This case is more extensively discussed in connection with the hearing held in Davao City by the Commission.) 14. Teresa Mameng Teresa Mameng, 59 years old, married, a Task Force Mapalad member, was fatally hit by a bullet on 3 September 2004 at about midnight when a group of armed men, with assault rifles, fired without any provocation at a group of shanties occupied by CARP farmer-beneficiaries who were members of Task Force Mapalad at the outskirts of the Villanueva Sugar Plantation located at Hacienda Conchita-Villanueva, Brgy. Sag-ang, La Castellana, Negros Occidental. Based upon the investigation of the police, a complaint for murder and multiple attempted murder was filed on 6 September 2004 against four members of the Tuguis Security Services Inc. who were hired by the management of Hacienda Conchita-Villanueva; the complaint was later amended to include Juanito Suriaga, an overseer of the hacienda. (However, on 21 March 2006, the charge of murder was downgraded to homicide per a resolution issued by the Provincial Prosecutor's Office). The case has been dragging on for two years without any significant progress. B. Methodology of AttacksThe extrajudicial killings of activists were carried out in a great number of cases by unidentified men riding on motorcycles wearing helmets or bonnet masks. The attackers rode in tandem on their motorcycles, with the backrider getting off to do the shooting. In some of the cases where the attackers killed their victims on foot, they made their escape using motorcycles. The efficiency and confident manner with which the attacks were undertaken clearly suggest that the killers were well-trained professionals who knew their business well. Many of the attacks were carried out during daytime and consummated with a limited number of shots hitting their intended target. The families of the victims in many of the cases reported previous death threats or surveillance by suspected military or police personnel. (Back to: Melo Commission Report-1 -- Introduction) * * * (POSTSCRIPT comes out in the Philippine STAR every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. Its online edition is uploaded the night before at http://www.manilamail.com)
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