August 14, 2000, ABS-CBN, 5:37 PM, Tadtad cultists face murder raps, rules of engagement questioned,
August 15, 2000, ABS-CBN, 5:44 PM, Split perception in Bukidnon cultists' death,
August 15, 2000, ABS-CBN, 5:44 PM, Split perception in Bukidnon cultists' death,
August 17, 2000, ABS-CBN, 2:56 PM, Army downplays video footage in Bukidnon cult shooting
August 18, 2000, ABS-CBN, 2:53 AM, Survivor claims Bukidnon cultist mentally ill,
August 18, 2000, ABS-CBN, 2:53 AM, Survivor claims Bukidnon cultist mentally ill,
Photo: A civilian hacked to death in a recent attack by Muslim rebels in a Christian town. (Mindanao Examiner)
_____________________________________________________________________
August 13, 2000, ABS-CBN, 10:40 PM, Two cultists' bodies missing in Bukidnon clash aftermath,
August 13, 2000, ABS-CBN, 10:40 PM, Two cultists' bodies missing in Bukidnon clash aftermath,
CAGAYAN DE ORO, (ABS-CBN) - There's a strange new twist in the aftermath of the clash between cultists and lawmen in Pangantucan, Bukidnon on Friday afternoon.
Although authorities counted 16 fatalities from the Tadtad or the "Catholic God Spirit Cult" immediately following the clash, only 14 bodies were found when another count was made Saturday morning.
Four militiamen, three of them members of the Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit (Cafgu) and a member of the Civilian Volunteer Organization were also killed in the clash.
Reports on Saturday said an encounter ensued in Barangay Kimana-it, Pangantucan, Bukidnon after the Christian cultists greeted with violence a warrant of arrest to be served on cult member Ruperto Madrina Jr.
Reports said the lawmen started firing their weapons when the cult members attacked them with double-bladed swords locally known as the kris.
The 19-year-old Madrina is charged with the murder of a certain Percelino de la Cruz Jr. killed early last month, the first amid the cultists' act of defiance.
The police claimed that this was their second attempt to serve the arrest warrant and that negotiations had already been concluded last August 10 for the peaceful surrender of Madrina.
Police officer 3 (PO3) Diosdado Valiente, Pangantucan chief investigator, claimed the cult "warriors" already positioned themselves in abandoned houses near the compound and attacked when the police tried to serve the arrest warrant.
The kris-wielding cultists who died were:
1. Jingle Alire
2. Hermie Bardera
3. Freddie Lucenas
4. Roberto Madrina, Jr.
5. Ariel Pangasian
6. Romelito Parot
7. Boy de los Reyes
8. Jimmy delos Reyes
9. Lando delos Reyes
10. Francisco Rundina, Sr.
11. Glen Rundina
12. Reynaldo Rundina
13. Noli Taban
14. Marichu Ubar-Ubar
The 14 fatalities were buried in a mass grave Saturday morning at the Barangay Kimanait Public Cemetery.
But a previously unaccounted for and still unidentified cultist has been reportedly brought to the Maramag District Hospital for treatment.
Also Saturday, surviving members of the cult surrendered 32 more krises to Pangantucan mayor Antonio Garces and 403rd Infantry Brigade commander Col. Ernesto Lumang Jr.
PO3 Valiente said they are planning to file charges of murder, frustrated murder, and obstruction of justice against the cultists.
__________________________________________________________________________
August 14, 2000, ABS-CBN, 5:37 PM, Tadtad cultists face murder raps, rules of engagement questioned,
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, (ABS-CBN) - The Philippine National Police (PNP) is planning to file criminal charges against the Christian cultists who survived and escaped last Friday's clash in Barangay Kimana-it, Pangantukan, Bukidnon.
PNP-Pangantucan chief investigator PO3 Diosdado Valiente said they are planning to file charges of murder, frustrated murder, and obstruction of justice against the cultists.
On the other hand, the arresting team of paramilitary elements whose shooting skills were displayed when they sprayed bullets on the charging cultists, may soon be in hot water once proven that they violated the PNP's "rules of engagement."
Television news footage from the ABS-CBN News Channel showed sword-wielding members of the Catholic God Spirit Cult lunge at policemen and paramilitary elements who, in turn, fired indiscriminately at them.
Sixteen cultists and four members of the Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit (Cafgu) died in the clash. Two militiamen were also wounded.
"Binigyan ko na ng instruction ang aking chief of police na mag-file ng appropriate charges sa mga nakatakas," Supt. Edgardo Villamayor, Bukidnon PNP chief, said.
[I have instructed the (Pangantucan) police chief to file appropriate charges against those who fled.]
Meanwhile, Bukidnon Rep. Nereus Acosta called for an investigation of the Tadtad encounter citing a possible violation of the rules of engagement.
He noted that the incident is reminiscent of the Martial Law during the '70s where merciless killings happened almost everywhere in the country.
The minority leader added that can be a base for argument against the further use of Cafgus, as he questioned the paramilitary members' lack of training and their respect for human rights and leadership.
Malacañang, which recently announced the deployment of 10,000 Cafgus to the provinces to augment government forces, refused to comment pending the completion of the investigation.
Even with the incident caught on video, Press secretary Ricardo Puno said the arresting group of Cafgus must not be judged.
The Cafgu reactivation, which took place August 1, was aimed at augmenting the 35,000 militiamen deployed to fight along with thousands of military elements assigned in Mindanao.
72-hour Probe Team
A newly-formed investigating team was given 72 hours to come up with a full report on the events surrounding the clash which resembled a violent video game turned real.
The PNP in Region 10 (Northern Mindanao) said the probe aims to resolve whether or not the arresting team in the operation violated the rules of engagement in the incident.
The investigating team is headed by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and the Intelligence Unit of the Police Regional Office-10.
PNP-10 chief Supt. Ruben Cabagnot claimed in an interview on TV Patrol that there was "clear and imminent danger" during the incident.
He assured though that there will be no whitewash in the investigation.
A report on TV Patrol said the rules of engagement of the PNP does not specify which part of the body of an armed suspect must be shot during a confrontation.
It only stated that a law enforcer can use his weapon when he feels that his life is being threatened.
But Hermogenes Ebdane, PNP directorate for Human Resources and Doctrine, whose department wrote the rules of engagement of the police admitted the arresting team committed a lapse in its operation. Ebdane did not elaborate though.
Tadtad
Members of the Catholic God Spirit Cult came to Barangay Kinamait, Pangantukan in 1994. Residents told TV Patrol that its leaders were former members of the vigilante group Tadtad.
However, the members reportedly refused to be identified with the vigilante group saying the group they belong to is of the religious kind.
Cultists explained their use of the "kris" or a double-bladed sword is written in the "holy scripture" which they said, is only being used in defense against "bad elements."
It was learned that last Friday's incident was actually the third time that the cultists and Cafgu members engaged in an encounter.
The first of such clash occurred in June 1999 where one Cafgu was killed. It was followed by another incident a month after, where a cult member reportedly ran amuck in front of the town mayor.
Cult members on Sunday surrendered 32 more double-bladed swords to Pangantucan mayor Antonio Garces and 403rd Infantry Brigade commander Col. Ernesto Lumang Jr.
They also buried their dead on Saturday morning at a mass grave at a cemetery in Pangantucan.
Defensive stance
Meanwhile, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) took a defensive stance and justified the action taken by the police and Cafgu against the Tadtad cult members.
The police officials insisted government troops only acted in self-defense when they fired at the advancing cult members.
The PNP is still conducting a probe on the events that transpired last Friday. A television news camera captured images of a single Tadtad member charging at a number of gun-totting policemen who immediately shot him to death.
Page 2 missing
___________________________________________________________________________
August 15, 2000, ABS-CBN, 5:44 PM, Split perception in Bukidnon cultists' death,
QUEZON CITY, (ABS-CBN) - Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Panfilo Lacson insisted on slapping murder charges against government elements who fired erratically at the charging Christian cultists in Pangantucan, Bukidnon last Friday.
He stressed that the video footage of ABS-CBN clearly showed that what the lawmen committed was "plain and simple murder."
"Hindi na pinag-uusapan ang overkill o violation of rules of engagement kasi kitang-kita naman sa videona (it was) murder, plain and simple murder," he said in a report on TV Patrol on Wednesday.
Lacson added that despite the premise that the law enforcers were attacked by the cultists, which placed their lives at risk, they should have not reacted by firing their guns.
"The fact I can say is that, if a picture paints a thousand words, your station's video coverage of that incident in Bukidnon may be summed up in just one word and that is murder," the PNP chief sternly said.
The police chief officially received on Wednesday the video footage taken by ABS-CBN Cagayan de Oro cameraman Peterson Bergado, who was accompanied by ABS-CBN management.
Bergado, who was with the government composite team about to serve a warrant of arrest to cult member Roberto Madrino Jr. of the Catholic God Spirit - otherwise known as Tadtad - narrated to General Lacson what he witnessed during the attack.
Four lawmen were killed while 16 cultists perished in the clash which erupted after Madrino reportedly disregarded the arrest warrant.
Madrino was facing charges of frustrated murder after stabbing a resident in Barangay Kimana-it last month.
Bergado defends Cafgus
QUEZON CITY, (ABS-CBN) - Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Panfilo Lacson insisted on slapping murder charges against government elements who fired erratically at the charging Christian cultists in Pangantucan, Bukidnon last Friday.
He stressed that the video footage of ABS-CBN clearly showed that what the lawmen committed was "plain and simple murder."
"Hindi na pinag-uusapan ang overkill o violation of rules of engagement kasi kitang-kita naman sa videona (it was) murder, plain and simple murder," he said in a report on TV Patrol on Wednesday.
Lacson added that despite the premise that the law enforcers were attacked by the cultists, which placed their lives at risk, they should have not reacted by firing their guns.
"The fact I can say is that, if a picture paints a thousand words, your station's video coverage of that incident in Bukidnon may be summed up in just one word and that is murder," the PNP chief sternly said.
The police chief officially received on Wednesday the video footage taken by ABS-CBN Cagayan de Oro cameraman Peterson Bergado, who was accompanied by ABS-CBN management.
Bergado, who was with the government composite team about to serve a warrant of arrest to cult member Roberto Madrino Jr. of the Catholic God Spirit - otherwise known as Tadtad - narrated to General Lacson what he witnessed during the attack.
Four lawmen were killed while 16 cultists perished in the clash which erupted after Madrino reportedly disregarded the arrest warrant.
Madrino was facing charges of frustrated murder after stabbing a resident in Barangay Kimana-it last month.
Bergado defends Cafgus
Contrary to earlier reports, the ABS-CBN cameraman clarified that the warrant of arrest for the suspect was not served by the Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit (Cafgu) men. The Cafgus, he said, only acted as support to the arresting team of police and military men.
Bergado said that, personally, the incident was a legitimate encounter.
"Sumugod ang mga Tadtad [The Tadtad group attacked.], he said.
After viewing the video footage presented to him, General Lacson ordered the nine policemen who figured in the incident to report to his office and explain the circumstances surrounding it.
For his part, Armed Forces Civil Relations Service chief Col. Jaime Canatoy agreed on the filing of charges against the Cafgus and military men who were included in the composite team.
All members of the apprehending team composed of policemen from Pangantucan, military personnel from the 8th Infantry Battalion, and Cafgu members from the Malipayon Patrol Base, and civilian volunteers from Kimana-it, will be subjected to mandatory paraffin tests and asked to surrender their firearms for ballistics tests.
"We will not tolerate the misdemeanor of military men including the Cafgus," Canatoy said.
"It now becomes only a matter of identifying who among the members of the composite team of Army, Cafgu, and PNP personnel were responsible and therefore must be held accountable under our criminal justice system," Lacson said.
Probes galore
As various sectors form their own investigating committees on the incident, President Estrada himself ordered an investigation to the bloody encounter in Bukidnon.
The government shall conduct separate investigations on the killing spree.
Aside from PNP Region 10 (Northern Mindanao), among those who will conduct their own probes are the Commission on Human Rights, the Office of the Ombudsman, and three Senate committees.
A three-member panel formed by Ombudsman Aniano Desierto left for Bukidnon on Wednesday to begin a 15-day inquiry.
Desierto ordered the deputy ombudsman for the military to probe possible criminal and administrative liabilities of authorities involved in the killing of the cultists.
Bergado will also be summoned by his office, Aniano stressed.
Page 2 missing
______________________________________________________________________
August 17, 2000, ABS-CBN, 2:56 PM, Army downplays video footage in Bukidnon cult shooting
August 17, 2000, ABS-CBN, 2:56 PM, Army downplays video footage in Bukidnon cult shooting
MANILA (ABS-CBN) - "Inconclusive."
This was how Armed Forces chief General Angelo Reyes described on Thursday the video footage taken by ABS-CBN on the Bukidnon incident where 16 members of the Tadtad cult and four militiamen were killed last Friday.
"The video is not the entire story. It failed to show how the Cafgus were killed...whether before or after the shooting," Reyes told reporters.
"To rely on partial videos, we might not have a complete picture. So it's difficult to render judgment and later on be proven wrong," he added contradicting an earlier pronouncement by Philippine National Police Chief Panfilo Lacson.
On Wednesday, Lacson said that based on the television footage, the policemen, soldiers and militiamen committed "plain murder" against the cult members.
"We are no longer talking of overkill or rules of engagement here. Its plan murder," Lacson was quoted as saying in a news conference.
Nonetheless, Reyes said they are willing to invite the ABS-CBN cameramen.
Initial reports received by Reyes from Col. Ernesto Lumang, commanding officer of the 403rd Brigade, showed that there were nine policemen, nine Cafgus and 14 Army enlisted personnel present during the operation.
The soldiers and militiamen were there upon the request of local officials and policemen to assist them in serving an arrest warrant against one of the cult leaders.
After the incident, three Cafgus were killed, three others wounded and one civilian volunteer killed.
"But we are waiting for the result of the investigation. Who started it, was excessive force applied..we will know all that after the investigation," Reyes said.
On Monday, Armed Forces spokesperson Brig. Gen. Generoso Senga defended the action taken against the cult members, saying the soldiers and militiamen were "forced" to fire on the cultist after being attacked.
Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado, for his part, said the presence of the militiamen in serving arrest warrants should be further studied to avoid a repetition of the incident.
_____________________________________________________________________
August 18, 2000, ABS-CBN, 2:53 AM, Survivor claims Bukidnon cultist mentally ill,
CAGAYAN DE ORO, (ABS-CBN) - Roberto Madrina, Jr., the cult member of the Catholic God Spirit group who defied the warrant of arrest served by lawmen to him last Friday is believed to be mentally ill.
One survivor, Junie Paner, a member of the group who said he was hit by a stray bullet as a result of the encounter between lawmen and their warriors, claimed that Madrina behaved erratically and would not listen to any advice, even from his elders and parents.
He said Madrina was a mental case.
Contrary to earlier reports, Paner denied that he was one of Madrina's group who attacked the government composite team.
He said he was bringing some corn to a store when he heard the lawmen warning all residents to stay inside their houses. Later, he said, the shooting spree started.
Four lawmen were killed while 16 cultists perished in the clash which erupted after Madrina reportedly disregarded the arrest warrant.
Madrina was facing charges of frustrated murder after stabbing a resident in Barangay Kimana-it last month.
Punishment commuted
In a latest development, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Panfilo Lacson disclosed that the lawmen figured in the Pangantucan massacre will no longer be charged with murder as he earlier recommended.
Lacson issued the statement after the nine policemen accompanied by the vice mayor and two barangay captains involved in the negotiation for Madrina's surrender, reported to him to defend themselves and rectify the allegations against them.
All members of the apprehending team are composed of policemen from Pangantucan, military personnel from the 8th Infantry Battalion, and Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit (Cafgu) members from the Malipayon Patrol Base, and civilian volunteers from Kimana-it.
The lawmen stressed that the incident was not a case of police brutality, rather they acted on self defense after the cult members attacked them.
Pangantucan vice mayor Miguel Silva corroborated their claim saying that the cult members positioned themselves at vantage points and were prepared to pounce on them.
"Pinaligiran ng mga Tadtad ang mga arresting team at nang magpaputok ng warning shot ang mga PNP, yun din ang senyales sa mga Tadtad na sugurin na ang arresting team", he said.
["The cultists surrounded the arresting team and when the warning shot was fired, it became the cultists' signal to attack."]
Page: 1 2 Next »
______________________________________________________________________
No comments:
Post a Comment