Senate probes Kidapawan clash; local pols tagged

MANILA, Philippines – Senators will conduct a probe today in Davao on the violent  dispersal that left two protesters dead last week in Kidapawan, North Cotabato.

Meanwhile, Undersecretary Irving Corvera of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said an investigating team is gathering evidence on reports that some politicians triggered the violent clashes between farmers and police.

“With respect to the investigation, nobody will be spared in terms of identifying (the perpetrators). But as to sanctioning them, we can only sanction those that are directly under our supervision,” Corvera said.

He noted reports that some local politicians misled the farmers into believing that sacks of rice would be given at the rally site.

Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman confirmed on Tuesday that some of the people were promised sacks of rice if they attended the rally.

According to Soliman, they have gathered the names of local politicians who spread the misinformation regarding the rice distribution and relayed this to investigators.

Corvera said preliminary findings of the DILG indicated that what transpired last week was not a typical mob incident but a concerted scrum.

“In light of these initial findings, the DILG would also like to know who is behind this, what was the motivation behind the instigation and who financed the organized action that led to the violence,” he said.

The DILG is among the agencies investigating the incident, focusing on the possible involvement of local officials.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) has also created an investigating body to look into the possible lapses of the policemen involved in the melee, while the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) is determining who were at fault from both sides.

The dispersal by the police left at least three protesters dead and close to 200 injured, including policemen, some of them seriously.

Both sides have accused the other of instigating the violence, although some policemen were seen heavily armed during the dispersal.

Pushing through

Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III, chairman of the committee on justice and human rights, said the panel would convene today to proceed with its probe into the incident.

Pimentel said the committee is pushing through with the hearing at 9 a.m. at the University of Southeastern Philippines in Davao City despite some technicalities raised in the conduct of hearings during congressional break.

Pimentel said the call for justice should prevail over the various interpretations of Senate rules.

“We have come up with the different interpretation of our rules. Also the farmers are crying out for justice, are we also to deny them this?” he said.

Under the Senate rules and by tradition, only the Senate Blue Ribbon committee can initiate congressional investigation on its own initiative even without the benefit of any referral of a resolution before the committee. 

Although Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had filed a resolution seeking an investigation into the Kidapawan incident, the same has not been formally referred by the Senate, while in session, to the appropriate committee, after which its chairman will set the hearing.

Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile earlier shot down the plan of Pimentel to initiate the probe since only the Blue Ribbon committee can conduct hearings on its own initiative during congressional break.

But Pimentel insisted on pushing through the probe.

“When they cried out for rice, there were given bullets. Now, they want justice and then we say that the committee on justice cannot even hear them out? We don’t interpret our rules that way,” Pimentel explained.

In a separate interview with dzRH,  Pimentel said his committee is also looking at the issue of “right to food,” which he said had been earlier referred to his committee.

“In the process, there are also joint agricultural policies… The question is although we anticipated El Niño phenomenon, why did we only anticipate it on paper? … On the ground, this (protest) is the manifestation that our farmers are not satisfied with the assistance given to them,” he said.

According to Pimentel, local officials, representatives from the Department of Agriculture (DA), DSWD and the CHR will attend the first hearing.

North Cotabato Gov. Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza and Kidapawan Mayor Joseph Evangelista were also invited to the Senate probe. The non-government organizations (NGOs) that were in the know about the incident will also be asked to explain their side.

Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares said the province of North Cotabato has a calamity fund of P321 million.

“In January this year, the provincial government declared a state of calamity so it can use the fund. Now where is all that money?” he asked.

“The farmers’ demand in the Kidapawan barricade is only 15,000 sacks of rice, which would cost only P27 million if multiplied by an estimated price of P1,600 for a 50-kilogram sack of rice. They should have accommodated the farmers’ demand,” he said.

Aside from the calamity fund, local government units and national agencies have a quick response fund that they could have used to help the farmers.

If they have already exhausted their allocations, they could have asked for augmentation from the national government, which has its own calamity and quick response funds, he added.

Colmenares pointed out that these appropriations are used precisely for emergency situations like the El Niño-caused suffering faced by farmers.

Malacañang denied the government was lacking in help for farmers affected by El Niño.

Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said the government had been fairly successful in mitigating the impact of El Niño, particularly in ensuring sufficiency in supply of food and keeping prices stable, citing the report of the El Niño Task Force headed by Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Emmanuel Esguerra.

Corvera, on the other hand, acknowledged the concerns of the protesting farmers are legitimate.

However, the government is doing its best to assist farmers in Region 12, the second region in the country that has been badly hit by El Niño phenomenon, he said.

Corvera also noted the national government, through the DA and the National Food Authority, has shelled out P42.8 million worth of rice and corn intervention and has also provided financial assistance to farmers as early as last year.

“We understand that other government and non-government groups are also conducting efforts to get to the truth as regards the Kidapawan incident. We see this as the DILG’s contributions to such efforts, and call on the public to discern for themselves as various details on the incident come to light,” Corvera said.

Other agencies are helping out the distressed farmers in North Cotabato.

The Davao City Council has approved the release of P31.5 million for the purchase of 15,000 sacks of rice for the farmers in North Cotabato.

Customs commissioner Alberto Lina said they would look into their stocks of recently seized smuggled rice and donate them to the farmers in Kidapawan. – Christina Mendez, Edith Regalado, Evelyn Macairan, Paolo Romero, Aurea Calica, Eva Visperas, Jess Diaz