Violence at "mining' barricade: Cops file assault raps vs 2 protesters

DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines — The Negros Oriental Provincial Police Office has charged two persons on Friday following their arrest on Thursday at the height of the commotion at the picket line opposing "black sand mining" at the dredging site in Tambacan of Tanjay City.

Now under detention after being charged are Ruben Gusarim Aguilar, 53, and Efren Castro Toledo, 59, both residents of Tambacan They were charged for direct assault to agents of person in authority, under NPS Docket Number VII-16-INV-14B-00009 at the Tanjay City Prosecutor's Office.

NOrPPO OIC director, Supt. Alet Virtucio, said the two were arrested following a violent confrontation between residents protesting the alleged black sand mining operations in Tanjay City and city government workers and police personnel who were deployed to the area for the removal of the barricades at the road leading to the project site.

The two were allegedly among those at the picket line who started hurling rocks at the PNP's Crowd Dispersal Management (CDM) team when negotiations to take down the barricades became violent following the arrival of City Legal Officer Arnel Vivar.

Vivar had allegedly agitated the crowd of picketers and started the commotion after he called in the job order employees of the City Engineer's Office and the police to forcibly dismantle the barricades despite the resistance of the protesters.

Vivar was also observed to have "physically manhandled" Msgr. Robert Caday of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente, after which a commotion ensued as the people formed a human barricade to prevent the city government workers from getting past them.

As the disturbance escalated and the CDM team moved forward, the protesters started hurling rocks at them in an apparent bid to protect themselves from the policemen who were armed with truncheons and shields.

The policemen retreated while shielding themselves while other police personnel from the Tanjay City Police station, this time, armed with M-16 armalite rifles and handguns, went after the protesters, two of whom were arrested and brought to the police station later.

The tension died down after the CDM and the other police personnel withdrew from the area upon orders of Virtucio and Governor Roel Degamo, who earlier issued a directive to stop the dredging project of contractor Sino-Italy Philippines Inc. at Tambacan.

Meanwhile, Virtucio has called on the protesters to also come out and file appropriate charges against any police personnel or Tanjay City government workers who may have assaulted them or caused them injury during the scuffle at the barricade site.

Virtucio reiterated that the police has been neutral in the ongoing controversy over the alleged black sand mining project in Tanjay City, under the guise of dredging the Tanjay River to avert future flooding.

The police official said he personally believed it is high time for a court intervention to resolve the problem, which he said may escalate further if all parties involved do not arrive at a win-win solution. (FREEMAN)