Demolition job turns into a massacre
TABUK CITY – What was thought to be a simple demolition of a few shanties at nearby Rizal municipality last Monday raged into a deadly gun battle that claimed the lives of nine of the settlers and wounded 13 others including 10 policemen.
Police reported that the fighting took place at Sitio Malapiat, Barangay San Pascual within the disputed area of the Hacienda Madrigal. The fighting lasted from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Police sources claimed that the settlers, who hid behind the tall grasses along the path, fired upon the unsuspecting troopers of the advance team immediately wounding several of them including the team leader, S/Insp. Bobby Glenn Ganipac, commanding officer of the Provincial Mobile Group.
Mediamen who went to the scene of the encounter said they found freshly dug foxholes where the settlers apparently positioned themselves.
Crew members of Radyo Natin, a local FM station in Tabuk City, said two V-150s were quickly dispatched to the scene. The V-150s pounded the position of the settlers and clearing operations soon followed as the heavily outgunned settlers tried to beat a hasty retreat.
Police identified the fatalities: Pedro Oliba, Felimon Oliba, Conrado Ordoña, Delfin Madayag, Juan Attang, Bangi Baccoy, Abbuc Tayaan, Rufino Cullaban and Sabawil Agyao.
The Olibas and Madayag are natives of Mabaca, Balbalan. Attang is from Ab-abaan, Balbalan. Ordoña is from Bulanao, Tabuk. Baccoy, Tayaan and Agyao are from Butbut, Tinglayan.
The wounded among the settlers were identified as Gayyad Addawi, Alib Balas and Gaspar Cayabo.
On the side of the police, the names of the wounded are still unavailable as of this writing although the Cordillera Today learned that an Insp. Leo Guay and the leader of the Cagayan RMG were among the wounded. Police sources said the policemen are now in stable condition.
Media reports also indicated that the government troopers also torched the tenements in the area.
The Cordillera Today gathered that a composite team of Kalinga PNP and Army personnel along with a Regional Mobile Group stationed in nearby Cagayan province were dispatched to Rizal to provide security for the demolition crew.
The demolition order was supported by a resolution by the Sangguniang Bayan of Rizal. Dela Cruz claimed before the local media that he had notified the settlers to remove their structures and leave the area but the latter refused to heed him. Dela Cruz further claimed that he sent written notices to the settlers but they refused to accept the notices.
The area is part of the land awarded for occupation through the land reform program. The settlers were claiming the area as their ancestral land while some claimed that the land was sold to them by the original occupants. Observers noted that the settlers made several improvements on the area and had even cleared a road leading to the site.
It is not clear whether there was a court order issued for the demolition as the matter of the alleged illegal occupation of the disputed lands is still under court litigation. **Bani Asbucan
See slides here.
Note: The disputed land is a problem for almost 60 years.
More stories at Inquirer, ABS-CBN, Sun Star,
TABUK CITY – What was thought to be a simple demolition of a few shanties at nearby Rizal municipality last Monday raged into a deadly gun battle that claimed the lives of nine of the settlers and wounded 13 others including 10 policemen.
Police reported that the fighting took place at Sitio Malapiat, Barangay San Pascual within the disputed area of the Hacienda Madrigal. The fighting lasted from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Police sources claimed that the settlers, who hid behind the tall grasses along the path, fired upon the unsuspecting troopers of the advance team immediately wounding several of them including the team leader, S/Insp. Bobby Glenn Ganipac, commanding officer of the Provincial Mobile Group.
Mediamen who went to the scene of the encounter said they found freshly dug foxholes where the settlers apparently positioned themselves.
Crew members of Radyo Natin, a local FM station in Tabuk City, said two V-150s were quickly dispatched to the scene. The V-150s pounded the position of the settlers and clearing operations soon followed as the heavily outgunned settlers tried to beat a hasty retreat.
Police identified the fatalities: Pedro Oliba, Felimon Oliba, Conrado Ordoña, Delfin Madayag, Juan Attang, Bangi Baccoy, Abbuc Tayaan, Rufino Cullaban and Sabawil Agyao.
The Olibas and Madayag are natives of Mabaca, Balbalan. Attang is from Ab-abaan, Balbalan. Ordoña is from Bulanao, Tabuk. Baccoy, Tayaan and Agyao are from Butbut, Tinglayan.
The wounded among the settlers were identified as Gayyad Addawi, Alib Balas and Gaspar Cayabo.
On the side of the police, the names of the wounded are still unavailable as of this writing although the Cordillera Today learned that an Insp. Leo Guay and the leader of the Cagayan RMG were among the wounded. Police sources said the policemen are now in stable condition.
Media reports also indicated that the government troopers also torched the tenements in the area.
The Cordillera Today gathered that a composite team of Kalinga PNP and Army personnel along with a Regional Mobile Group stationed in nearby Cagayan province were dispatched to Rizal to provide security for the demolition crew.
The demolition order was supported by a resolution by the Sangguniang Bayan of Rizal. Dela Cruz claimed before the local media that he had notified the settlers to remove their structures and leave the area but the latter refused to heed him. Dela Cruz further claimed that he sent written notices to the settlers but they refused to accept the notices.
The area is part of the land awarded for occupation through the land reform program. The settlers were claiming the area as their ancestral land while some claimed that the land was sold to them by the original occupants. Observers noted that the settlers made several improvements on the area and had even cleared a road leading to the site.
It is not clear whether there was a court order issued for the demolition as the matter of the alleged illegal occupation of the disputed lands is still under court litigation. **Bani Asbucan
See slides here.
Note: The disputed land is a problem for almost 60 years.
More stories at Inquirer, ABS-CBN, Sun Star,
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