AFP’s claim on human rights violations a big fat lie – Karapatan
By KARAPATAN
May 17, 2012
QUEZON CITY – "The extrajudicial killings of environmental activists
Fred Trangria and Margarito Cabal prove that AFP's claim of zero human
rights violations in the first four months of 2012 is one fat lie!"
Cristina Palabay, Karapatan spokesperson said. Col. Domingo Tutaan of
AFP's Human Rights Office announced that the AFP has zero human rights
violation cases a few days after the killing of Cabal and Trangria.
On May 6, 2012 at 4 in the afternoon, Fred Trangria was gunned down by
two unidentified motorcycle riding in tandem at Purok 2B Cabidianan,
Nabunturan on his way home. Trangria, 60 years old, is a Barangay
Kagawad of Mainit Nabunturan, Compostela Valley and strongly opposed
the Mineral Processing Zone.
Three days later, on May 9 2012 at 6:30 in the evening, Margarito
"Boy" J. Cabal was shot at his rented house in Purok 4-B Barangay
Palma, Kibawe, Bukidnon by two unidentified riding in tandem armed men
using a motorcycle without any plate number. Boy sustained three
gunshot wounds in the chest and one in the upper left back of his
chest which killed him instantly. According to the witness, the neighbours noticed the same motorcycle, a red STX, roaming in the
vicinity several times for the past days and even in the afternoon of
May 9.
Cabal, 47 years old, married with three children, is a government
employee of the Local Government Unit in Kibawe, Bukidnon. He is known
for his firm resistance to the establishment of Hydro-Electric Mega
Dam project of First Bukidnon Electric Cooperative (FIBECO) that will
affect 22 barangays of Bukidnon and North Cotabato. He was organizing
the residents of the affected barangay to oppose the construction of
the mega-dam. A month before the incident, Cabal was already being
tailed by the Police Mobile vehicle, with the policemen directing
their flashlights at Cabal's house.
"Karapatan condemns the killing of Margarito Cabal and Fred Trangria,"
Palabay says. "All they did was to defend their lands from destructive
projects of the government and private companies. Just because the
AFP's Human Rights Offices are not receiving complaints doesn't mean
there are zero human rights violation cases. This is nothing but an
attempt to cover up the AFP's continuing human rights violations under
Oplan Bayanihan," Palabay said.
Palabay noted that the AFP’s statement came in two weeks before the
Philippine government goes through the second cycle of the Universal
Periodic Review under the auspices of United Nations Human Rights
Council. Palabay concluded that, “the AFP statement is simply a psy-war
addressed to the international community and is meant to prop up its
war monger image that could no longer be masked by their deceptive
schemes.”