Report by Andres Mapa

The Regional Trial Court Branch 69 in Silay dismissed the petition for the writ of habeas corpus filed by the daughters of two missing farmers addressed to 79th IB Commanding Officer Llt. Col. J-jay Javines.

According to Judge Leonardo Facultad of the RTC branch, the petition was dismissed on the ground of lack of jurisdiction as they could not enforce the writ of habeas corpus outside his territorial limits.

He adds that although he has jurisdiction over Manapla, where the two farmers were last found, he doesn’t have jurisdiction over Sagay, where the 79th IB was situated.

Atty. Rey Gorgonio, legal counsel of the petitioners, said the judge erred in his decision as Sagay is still within the 6th judicial region and he could very well enforce the writ of habeas corpus.

They are planning to file a motion of reconsideration on this ground, he adds.

‘Surface our fathers’

Hector Maquiling and Ernesto Baynes remain missing after the combined troops of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and Philippine National Police (PNP) conducted a joint operation in Brgy. San Pablo, Manapla, Negros Occidental last September 30.

In a press conference last Friday, the daughters of two missing elderly farmers called on the Philippine army to surface their fathers.

“If our father has done something wrong, file a case in court. But please, just let us know where they are. They are farmers, not rebels,” said the daughter of Ernesto Baynes.

The joint operation allegedly led to an hour-long gunfight with the New People’s Army (NPA), resulting in four fatalities among the Red fighters who were said to have stopped by within the vicinity of the two farmers’ houses to rest for the night.

According to the Juanito Magbanua, AGC-NPA spokesperson, no encounter transpired as this contradicted the accounts of the residents in the area.

The spokesperson claimed that the state forces entered the house in the wee hours of the morning and shot the Red fighters who were hors de combat (not in the capacity to fight).

Magbanua decried the incident as a clear violation based on the rules of war as stated in the Geneva Conventions and the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL).

Magbanua added that the house where the alleged encounter happened bore no signs of gunshots.

Eye-witness

On that day, barangay tanod Gaspar David claimed he heard the gunshots at two in the morning in the direction of the two farmers’ residence.

When he arrived near the site, David saw many army vehicles and decided to introduce himself to one of the soldiers at the checkpoint.

The elements from 79th IB told David to help them identify identities of those passing by.

“A few minutes later, I saw the two farmers being escorted by an army official,” David said.

Then another officer went up to David and told him to go back home.

As he was about to leave, he heard an officer command the farmers to lie flat on the ground. Then, he heard Hector writhe in pain.

At five in the morning, David went back to the site and the two elderly farmers were no longer there.

“I saw with my own eyes how [the army] took both of them. I live a peaceful life and I have no plans in ruining it by telling a fabricated statement. I am just telling you what I saw,” David told the media.

David attested that the two were hardworking farmers and not associated with any rebel groups.

In the afternoon of the same day, David accompanied the two daughters to the police station to file a blotter report about their missing fathers.

Peasant month

In a radio program last Saturday, Danilo Tabura, Secretary-General of Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), condemned the disappearance of the two farmers.

“The peasants demand for genuine land reform not militarization,” he said. “If the military is truly sincere in serving the people, they should implement free land distribution. Instead, they serve the big landlords.”

Tabura adds that in the upcoming highlight of peasant month on October 21, KMP will bring the call of the farmers “for land to till, justice for all massacres under the Duterte regime and government assistance for farmers and farm workers.” #