Indigenous peoples’ rights group KATRIBU condemned the recent indiscriminate bombing by the Armed Forces of the Philippines in a counterinsurgency operation in Sitio Birao, Hacienda Intal, Baggao, Cagayan on February 2 at around 1:30 PM.
Citing reports from Danggayan Daggiti Mannalon ti Cagayan Valley, a local chapter of Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, they said that the 95th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army’s 501st Infantry Brigade dropped four bombs and used rockets and machine guns using a Sikorsky S70i Black Hawk and Agusta Westland 1129 ATAK.
They say that the attack – mostly on the farmlands of Sitio Birao – forced around 107 families or 235 individuals to evacuate, mostly Kankanaey and Kalinga Peasants.
“The bombings and artillery firings were indiscriminate, victimized civilians, and destroyed the environment. During this [economic] crisis, the residents badly need their agricultural produce. The government must provide aid not for bombing communities in counter-insurgency operations,” they said in a statement.
The National Democratic Front – Cagayan also reported that, two days before the bombing, aerial drones and reconnaissance planes were already surveilling the area.
“[Naghatid ito ng] pinsala sa buhay at kabuhayan ng mga taga Hacienda Intal. Hindi malayong may mga sakahan, kalabaw at iba pang alagang hayop na napinsala sa insidente,” said NDF-Cagayan spokesperson Celia Corpuz.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development Region 2 also did not deny the bombing, as it reported that it distributed aid to 103 “Internally-displaced persons (IDP).”
“Noong mangyari ang insidente ay sobrang kinabahan ako dahil kasalukuyang nag-aaral yung dalawang anak ko. Noong nalaman ko at narinig ko na naghuhulog sila ng bomba wala akong magawa kundi umiyak lang. Ngayon ay nasa evacuation center na kami at di namin alam kung kailan kami makakabalik sa bahay naming,” said one IDP.
Although the aforementioned resident thanked the DSWD for aid, rights groups have pointed that the state is still ultimately responsible for their displacement.
“It is unarmed civilians who have been bearing the brunt of the AFP’s vicious counter-insurgency operations. They are often deliberately targeted, in brazen disregard of international humanitarian law protocols because the military suspects them of supporting the NPA,” said Karapatan Secretary General Kristina Palabay
KATRIBU also said that the bombings were a byproduct of the United State’s influence on the current administration.
“We hold the US-Marcos Jr. Regime accountable for these violations of International Humanitarian Law. Like his father, Marcos Jr. has no concern for the people and remains a puppet of US imperialism,” they said in a statement.
Nothing new for the AFP
“This refusal to distinguish between combatants and non-combatants has resulted in mounting civilian casualties in the State’s decades-long counter-insurgency war,” lamented Palabay in her statement, referring to the AFP’s history of human rights violations.
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Almost exactly a year prior, on January 29, 2021, the military also bombed an Agta and Peasant Community nearby in Gonzaga, Cagayan.
READ: https://tinyurl.com/CagayanAgtaBombing
These are only a few of countless attacks by the military on communities in the countryside, all of which are part of the state’s counterinsurgency efforts.
Change, not bombs, will end the insurgency
Time and again, however, peace advocates have said that these bombing efforts are futile, and the only lasting answer to end the insurgency is to resolve the roots of the struggle.
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In the recent General Assembly of Student Councils, for example, student leaders across the campus resolved to continue the condemnation of the AFP’s human rights violations and the campaign for peace talks.
READ: https://tinyurl.com/GASCPeaceTalks
They echoed calls from the previous GASC calling on the state to actually address the roots of the armed conflict.
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“Now more than ever, the government should address the root causes kung bakit nga ba pumupunta sa kanayunan at humahawak ng armas ang ating mga kasama,” said CSSP Vice Chairperson Hans Antiojo, lamenting that the state has only responded with violence instead.
The GASC resolved to urge the government to sign and implement agreements that resolve the people’s struggles such as the Comprehensive Agreement on Social Economic Reforms (CASER) instead of violating human rights in their bombing sprees.
Featured image courtesy of Northern Dispatch
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