by Ben Serrano
August 14, 2009
The first wave of 1,471 hinterland dwellers mostly Manobo children, women and elderly who evacuated home were from fifteen communities from three barangays of Lianga, Surigao del Sur.
They arrived here at Surigao del Sur capital last July 28 and stayed one night at Provincial Gym but later transferred to the Pastoral Center which is home of Diocese of Tandag Bishop Nereo P. Odchimar now CBCP President.
Bishop Odchimar and Surigao del Sur Governor Vicente Pimentel, Jr spearheaded two meetings for the lumads’ safe return but all talks bogged down after Manobo evacuees insisted total pull out of the military in their areas.
They claimed they fear for their lives being caught in crossfire between the military and the armed New People’s Army.
This morning, some 1,000 villagers or about 210 families have flee homes in Barangay Pantukan and sought shelter at Adlay Elementary School and the Barangay Hall of Adlay in Carasscal town, some 63 kilometers away northwest of Tandag, Surigao del Sur’s capital.
Lianga, Surigao del Sur which is the first wave of 1, 741 evacuees came from is about 87 kilometers south of Tandag.
Lt. Col. Benjamen Petralvez, commanding officer of the 58th IB Philippine Army blamed the New People’s Army for the latest round of another evacuation in Carasscal town.
“The communist terrorists harassed Barangay Pantukan forcing people to evacuate while our non-uniform men were conducting community works for peace and development including livelihood consultations” Petralvez told this writer in a mobile phone interview.
Petralvez is now in Barnagay Pantukan, a hinterland Barangay in Carasscal town.
Petralvez said undetermined number of armed NPA rebels headed by Ka Julie allegedly wife of Kumander Salem allegedly with real name Manuel Angub harassed dwellers of Barangay Pantukan at about 3:23 a.m. early dawn this morning.
He said most of his men sent in the area were conducting community works for peace and development hours before the armed NPA rebels arrived in Barangay Pantukan.
Petralvez said he was trying to convince the residents who most of them were walking towards Barangay Adlay as they flee their homes but all the appeals made failed.
“This is the strategy of the NPA rebels and their front organizations, when they think the military are intensifying their presence even for community works not for combat they forced the people to evacuate”, Petralvez said.
But two families who flee homes in Pantukan and are now here staying in relatives’ homes in Tandag claimed they are really afraid when they sensed they will be sandwiched or caught in crossfire when armed encounter between military and the NPA rebels occur..
Meanwhile, leaders of the 1,471 evacuees now still staying at the grounds of Pastoral Center here claimed five children were already hospitalized for diarrhea.
They said even if they die at the evacuation grounds here they will not go back home unless both the military and the armed NPA rebels will leave their communities.
Concerned residents here are now alarm after news reached this province’ capital that the Carasscal evacuees are also planning to evacuate to Tandag.
Displacement of hinterland dwellers here have slowly becoming a human crisis due problem of sanitation, health, scarcity of food and security
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