Killing 'zombies' a patriotic act for New People's Army

(Second of three parts)

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY -- Why kill your own kind?

For the New People's Army (NPA) in Mindanao in the 1980s, a comrade caught spying for the military was considered a "zombie" or walking dead. And they believed ahos or garlic was the most effective weapon against these demons.

The rebels launched Kampanyang Ahos (Garlic Campaign) in 1985, hoping to cleanse or purge its ranks of demons. Later also known as Operation Zombie, the campaign left a trail of innocent blood in a number of Mindanao provinces.

How was the operation carried out?

Former rebel leaders who agreed to speak on the issue remembered that before a "zombie" was killed, he was first sent a "komo" or communication order telling him that he was being invited for an "ED" or educational development session. The ED would turn out to be a mock trial where everything -- from the charge sheet to the verdict -- had already been prepared.

If the evidence against the zombie was found to be overwhelming, he would be immediately hogtied and beaten to death.

If the evidence was weak, on the other hand, the zombie was detained and tortured to force him to reveal information on his dealings with the military. This information would then be used as evidence against the zombie to merit his execution.

Ka Dory, a guerrilla commander of the NPA's Front 6 in Surigao del Sur and Agusan, said she directed the arrest and execution of suspected military informers in 1985 when the rebel front began suffering several setbacks.

The memory of the first mission she led still lingers in her mind. Her group disarmed and arrested 10 NPA members in Surigao del Sur, brought them to an ED session, and took them to a mass grave.

"As soon as they were near the grave site, we started beating their heads until they were unconscious. We dropped them in the grave even as they were still moaning," she said.

The execution, she recalled, was done at dusk. It had to be swift and silent so as to avoid being noticed by villagers. And one rule they observed was that there should be no shooting.

"We beat, hacked or stabbed them. We're not allowed to shoot because shooting would create noise," Ka Dory explained. "And we're not allowed to waste bullets."

At first, only those accused of being military informers were killed. But later on, the wife and children of suspected informers were also executed.

And in cases where an entire family had to be killed, Ka Dory said her group opted to start with the children. "They create too much noise," she said.

The lady rebel leader said she and members of her group never felt any remorse in executing suspected informers or their families. For them, she said, killing a demon is a patriotic act and the one given the task to kill is considered a hero in the organization.

Not all those killed, however, were proven to be military spies.

Ka Dory said that at the height of the NPA's paranoia, even those who were seen talking to soldiers just once were included in the list of people to be executed. What happened, in effect, was a witchhunt.

In Taglimao, a thriving village near the boundary of Misamis Oriental and Bukidnon, dozens of farmers were executed by the rebels in front of horrified villagers in October 1985.

Ritchie Salloman, whose father was among those killed by the rebels, recalled that about 50 to 70 NPA guerrillas, mostly teenagers, swooped down on their village at early dawn, strafed their houses and picked up farmers suspected of being military informers.

Unlike most rebel groups, though, this band of NPA guerrillas thought it better to open fire at their victims, killing the helpless farmers instantly.

Salloman said that two days after the raid, three more bodies of respected villagers were dug up in various parts of Taglimao. The bodies bore multiple bullet wounds. His father was among them.

A simple man with simple dreams, Salloman's father had never touched a gun nor hurt anyone in his lifetime. "He was a loving and God-fearing individual. He raised us into well-disciplined and law-abiding citizens despite his inability to send us to college," Salloman said.

Salloman added that it still pains him to think of his father's murder, especially when he realizes that the government has been unable to arrest and jail those responsible for it.

"Oftentimes I fear that our law-abiding institutions that profess to be saviors of the masses are the same institutions that propagate this godless society," he said

Meanwhile, a number of rebels suspected of being military spies were fortunate to survive the purge.

Marciano Taungan, a member of the Pulang Bagani unit of the NPA and considered a tribal guerrilla, said that in 1985, he was held for six days inside an NPA detention camp in Claveria, Misamis Oriental, the same area where a mass grave containing the remains of about 20 people was to be discovered 15 years later.

Taungan recalled being hogtied and interrogated, all the while being forced to reveal his links to the military and to name military informers within the rebel movement. He was even hanged and beaten to force him to admit that he was a deep penetration agent.

"Some of us who could no longer bear the torture named innocent people just to be free. But after (making) their admission, they were led to graves and beaten to death," he said.

Taungan was fortunate. A tribal leader interceded for his release and he was spared from the purge.

According to the military, at least 19 mass graves have been discovered since 1985 when the NPA began Operation Zombie. Officials believe those killed could number from 4,000 to 6,000.

The latest mass grave, containing the remains of about 110 people, was discovered in Barangay Taglimao in this city recently.

(To be concluded)