“The Tumandok people have yet to achieve justice in the massacre two years ago. Now, the police and military are back in their communities,” Beverly Longid, national convener of Katribu Kalipunan ng Katutubong Mamamayan sa Pilipinas, said today.
Katribu received reports during the weekend that around 300 elements of the police and military are back in the Tumandok communities in Tapaz, Capiz doing house-to-house operations purportedly to clear the way for the construction of the Pan-Ay Mega Dam Project.
“We call on the PNP-CIDG Reg. 6 and the Armed Forces of the Philippines to pull out their troops immediately in the Tumandok areas. Their operations are causing alarm and fear for the Tumandok as the trauma done from the 2021 massacre is still fresh,” Longid said. “Civil-military ops like this often lead to human rights violations, intimidation, and disunity in the IP communities. It shall cause fear and confusion among the Tumandok and silence them against the Pan-Ay Mega Dam Project. Like in the past, this might lead to dispossession and displacement,” Longid said.
“We remind the police and the military that our right to FPIC covers state forces’ entry into our land, community, and territory,” Longid added.
“We will monitor the Tumandok communities. We also urge the Commission on Human Rights to monitor the situation on the ground. We do not want another massacre to happen,” Longid concluded.