With victims of typhoon “Pablo†complaining about the slow distribution of relief goods, an angry, hungry crowd gathered outside the office of the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Davao City last week. The mass action soon turned ugly, with the crowd breaking into the DSWD office and carting away relief goods.
Security officials expressed suspicion that the three-day barricade and raid on the DSWD office was instigated by left-wing militants, some of whom were not even victims of the typhoon. Last Monday, one of the leaders of the mass action, Cristina Jose, was gunned down as she rode a motorcycle with her niece and 11-year-old daughter in Davao Oriental.
Jose was a council member of Barangay Binondo in Bangaga, Davao Oriental. She was also an official of Barug Katawhan, the militant group that participated in the raid on the DSWD office. Last January, the group also blocked the national highway in Montevista, Compostela Valley – another area hard hit by typhoon Pablo. Jose’s relatives said she was preparing a report on military harassment of those who joined the protest at the DSWD when she was murdered.
The military has denied involvement in Jose’s killing, insisting that she was a friend of the Armed Forces. If the denial is true, the military should want to see the murderers caught and the motive established. The only way to know the truth is to catch the killers, who were reportedly also on a motorcycle when they waylaid Jose. The victim’s daughter and niece witnessed the murder and should be able to identify the killers.
People in the Davao provinces and Compostela Valley continue to suffer from the destruction caused by Pablo. Violence – whether through raids on government stockpiles or the murder of activists – can only aggravate suffering in the disaster areas.