Negrenses to PNoy: Stop extra-judicial killings

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines —About 8,000 residents of Escalante City in Negros Occidental staged a rally in front of the public market Saturday to condemn the extra-judicial killings (EJKs) in their city and called on President Noynoy Aquino to prevent more killings in their place.

The rallyists, many of whom were widows and families of victims of extra-judicial killings in Escalante City, reiterated their call for speedy justice, and immediate action on the spate of killings there, before more lives are lost.

The EJKs in Escalante started in 2007 and had reached 25, as of two weeks ago, according to Luke Espiritu, counsel of the victims.

Former Escalante Mayor Santiago Barcelona, who is now running for mayor against the reelection bid of Mayor Melecio Yap, said of this number of EJKs, 18 were his supporters.

The rally was spearheaded by the Save Negros Movement (SNM) and Sanlakas to seek justice for the EJK in Escalante. The residents chanted "Justice! Justice! Justice!" for the victims, while some of the victims' family narrated how they were brutally killed.

Tessie Villadar Damalerio, whose son Ferjun and brother Sergio were among the victims of EJKs in Escalante in 2007 and 2010, respectively, said Aquino and DILG Secretary Mar Roxas should now take action on the report and recommendation of the Task Force Escalante submitted to the DILG central office last year. "Do we have to wait for another killing to take place before you act?" she said.

Barcelona also shared the sentiments of the widows the need for the leadership of the national and provincial governments to immediately act on the spate of killings.

Not to be outnumbered by the rallyists in the public market, another group of about 8,000 people led by supporters of Yap held a prayer rally some 250 meters away carrying placards that said "We love Mayor Yap."

The number of people at the both rallies were estimated by Supt. Jefferson Descallar, Escalante City Police chief.

Yap and eight others, including a retired Army major and a former policeman, were charged last week on three counts of murder and two of frustrated murder before the provincial prosecutor in connection with the series of EJKs in Escalante City since 2007.

The most recent victims were PO1 Beijen Tanguan and police asset Joseph Lutrago, said to be a supporter of Barcelona and of the United Negros Alliance headed by re-electionist Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr.

Jonathan Lutrago, brother of Joseph, who also participated in the march rally, had claimed that the NPA rebels behind the killings in Escalante are in the payroll of a politician.

Pondevilla dared Lutrago to name the alleged NPA members who were city-paid, otherwise such statement was pure assumption for the benefit of his boss.

The NPA's Jean Pelle Command owned up to the series of killings of Escalante, in statements it issued to the media, prompting Yap to say that the rally against EJKs and the charges against him were politically motivated.

"What gain would I have by having people with hardly any political influence killed?" Yap said, citing that his family was also a victim of EJK and that he also called on the president for justice for the killing of his uncle by the NPA in 1989.  (FREEMAN)