DAVAO DEL NORTE, Sept. 28 (PIA) –Members of the Ata-Manobo tribe have filed cases on human trafficking, child abuse, violation of international humanitarian law, and involuntary servitude (slavery) against Haran management.
During a special interview at Radio 911, National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) Director of Legal Affairs and spokesperson of National Task Force ELCAC, Atty. Marlon Bosantog, specified the cases filed against Haran.
“This morning nakapag file tayo ng kaso na (This morning we filed cases on) human trafficking, child abuse, violation of international humanitarian law especially on the conscription of child warriors, yung pagkuha ng mga child soldiers para maki digma (the training of child soldiers to participate in war). And then involuntary servitude, a form of slavery),” he said.
Onboard the special radio interview in the afternoon on September 15, he explained that the child abuse case is due to the testimony under oath of the witnesses saying they were recruited when they were still minors.
“Ang mga complainant po natin dito, may apat tayong complainant, sila po ay mga minors noong sila ay ni recruit at ‘inabuse’ ng CPP-NDA-NDF (Our complainant here, there are four of them, they were minors when they were recruited and abused by the CPP-NDA-NDF),” he said.
In addition, Bosantog cited the complainants’ testimony that they were forced to do things against their will and were often times not given food unless they follow instructions.
“Halimbawa yung pumunta sila sa Manila, they were not informed na mag ra-rally sila (Example when they went to Manila, they were not informed that they were going for a rally). They were just made to hold the cards and if you don’t do that they will not be given resources like food. You should rally first before being given water and food,” he cited.
Bosantog also explained that fear among the IPs is the reason why, until recently, no cases were filed against Haran Management despite being known for these crimes.
“Naririnig natin ang Haran for almost how many years now, naririnig natin yung mga abuses na nangyayari pero bakit walang naka file na kaso. Alam niyo kung bakit? Kase natatakot yung mga nag fi-file ng kaso para sa mga buhay nila buhay ng pamilya nila, kase alam naman natin yung CPP-NDA-NDF pumapatay talaga yung mga yan, so nahihirapan tayong kumuha ng mga witnesses (We’ve heard of Haran for almost how many years now, we’ve heard the abuses that were happening but no cases were filed. Do you know why? Because they [witnesses] fear for their lives, for their families’ lives, because we all know that the CPP-NDA-NDF really do kill, that’s why we had a tough time finding witnesses),” he said. However, there are now those who have found the courage to step up and testify against Haran.
“Pero ngayon through God’s grace, nakahanap tayo ng mga naglakas loob na tumulong sa kampanya ng gobyerno para tapusin ang ginagawa sa UCCP Haran (But now through God’s grace, we’ve found people who have courage to help with the government’s campaign to end the doings of UCCP Haran),” Bosantong said.
He said that it took not merely months, but a year to build up the case against Haran.
“Ang kaso nato hindi lang siya nagawa ng ilang buwan, taon din yung inilakad para maka gawa tayo ng magandang kaso at mahinto na ang ginagawang exploitation sa loob ng Haran (This case didn’t take months, it took a year of building up a good case to finish the exploitation that is happening inside Haran),” he said.
The filing of cases was done in the Office of the City Persecutor of Davao and in the Office of the Provincial Prosecutor of Davao del Norte last September 15. (Jan Vincent Leuterio, PIA-XI/jmda)
Source: Philippines Information Agency (pia.gov.ph)
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