NPA purging in the 1980s Skeletal remains of two abducted victims dug up

CEBU, Philippines - The skeletons of two farmers, believed to be victims of the dreaded Operation: Venereal Disease of the New People's Army in the 1980s, were exhumed from two locations on Friday at MacArthur town of Leyte.

They were dug up by a joint team, consisting of the military, the police, Scene-of-the-Crime operatives, personnel of the Commission on Human Rights and surviving relatives. Mayor Rene Leria also accompanied the group.

The relatives of the victims positively identified the remains, based on the clothes found from the scene that were still recognizable. Father Noel Lao, assistant parish priest of the town, blessed the remains.

The first body to be exhumed was identified as that of Nicostrates Nobio, who was abducted on August 17, 1984, or 31 years ago. His remains were dug up from a shallow grave at a valley in Barangay Lanawan of MacArthur, a 30-minute trek from the road.

Nobio's remains were identified by his sons, Reynaldo and Rodrigo, from the polo shirt he wore the day he was abducted and went missing.

Wilfredo Gabao, 59, who was with Nobio on the day of the abduction, said the victim wore his best clothes that day. They were on their way to a barrio fiesta when three armed men approached Nobio and escorted him away. He was never again seen since then.

Nobio's sons cried when they saw their father's remains. "Mahirap ipaliwanag," said Rodrigo, when asked how he felt. He added that after his father was abducted, probably suspected as a spy for government, he and two other brothers joined the CAFGU to protect themselves.

The second body was found at the adjacent village of San Vicente. The victim's son, Levy, cried upon seeing the remains, which he identified as that of his father, Lolieto Custodio, a farmer-trader from the town of La Paz in Leyte.

Levi, now 47, will never forget the day when three armed men took away his father. He was with him, together with another brother and a farmhand, on that fateful day. His father requested them to be absent from high school classes that day, to help in harvesting coconut. He recalled they were tied-up by the armed men, and that his father's hands were bound when they took him away. 

Custodio's remains were found with a nylon rope and a piece of cloth, believed to be used in blindfolding him. Levi said the T-shirt found with the remains was a favorite of his father, and he would wear it sometimes when he was a young boy, with its seams reaching his ankle.

Levi said the NPAs destroyed their future. His father worked hard for them to graduate from high school. He wanted him to become a mechanic. After the abduction, they had to stop schooling, moved to Manila, and did not finish high school.

Meanwhile, Eliza Concordo, who accompanied the group, also cried. She was hoping that the body of her father, Felipe Nobio, would also be found. She said the NPA members also abducted her father and there were rumors that he was buried side-by-side with Nicostrates. She was however disappointed, but insisted there were still a lot of "missing" people in various barangays of the town.

Lieutenant Colonel Allan Jose Taguba, commander of the 78th Infantry Battalion, said in a statement that some of those reported still "missing" from MacArthur alone were Alfredo Parado, Nestor and Conrado Bernal, Marcelino Castro, Daniel Gonzaga, Pepe Casuela, Bebot Abalos, Beyo Gubi and Puri Casuela.

Taguba, in an interview, believed that they have found a "new killing field," comparable to that of the mass grave in Inopacan town of Leyte where the bones of 61 purging victims were found. It was also learned that "hard core" NPA members operating in the area have since vanished. Locals presumed they have relocated or probably killed in various military encounters.

Taguba said his troops learned of the two grave sites when locals volunteered the information that the area was once a killing field of the NPA.

Colonel Dinoh Dolina, 802nd Infantry Brigade commander, said the Philippine Army's direction now is to "win the war with peace." He gives credit to the current administration's "convergence initiatives" in paving the way to a more effective solution to the insurgency problem, instead of "adopting a purely military solution."

Dolina added that, as of press time, the Leyte Front of the NPA has only 40 hardcore members, maybe with some "sympathizers." He was however confident that the scales of conflict are now tipped to the Army's favor, as people see them as "friends" and not as oppressors. (FREEMAN)