Farmer stumbles across mass grave

Remains of at least 30 suspected victims of NPA atrocities discovered

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3 MIN READ

Manila: The skeletal remains of at least 30 people believed to be victims of summary executions conducted by the communist New People’s Army (NPA) some 20 years ago were discovered recently in a field in San Francisco, in Quezon province.

Major Harold Cabunoc, spokesman for the Philippine Army, said that the grisly discovery was made by farmer Rommel Malinao on Saturday while he was preparing his farm in Sitio Irrigation, Pagsangahan village for the planting of crops.

“As of last count, there were about 30 human skeletons,” Cabunoc said.

“We believe these were victims of the New People’s Army [NPA] ‘kangaroo courts’, which sentenced to death many members they had suspected as government intelligence agents.”

During the mid-1980s when the Philippine insurgent movement was rocked by suspicions of infiltration of military spies, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) “purged” its ranks after conducting sham trials.

These purges were carried out in various parts of the country.

Malinao, 47, said he promptly informed his village’s local officials about his startling discovery.

Rebecca Ruga, the village chief of Pagsangahan, reported the incident to the local police and military authorities.

At around 8am on Sunday, government officials, soldiers of the Army 74th Infantry Battalion and the police’s scene of crime operatives (SOCO) proceeded to the site of the mass grave to conduct an investigation.

Marks of torture

Police investigators said some of the victims’ remains bore marks of torture.

Major Cabunoc said a villager who refused to be identified, said that there were at least 47 people in their locality who went missing starting in the mid-80s.

It was also during this period that the communist rebels implemented the “Oplan Missing Link,” in its attempt to cleanse their ranks from suspected deep penetration agents.

Lt Col Dennis Perez, the Commanding Officer of the Army 74th Infantry Battalion, said that human rights advocates should denounce the atrocities carried out by the communist rebel group.

“This is a clear manifestation of the CPP-NPA’s cruelty not only towards the civilian populace but also against their own armed members,” he said.

In August 2006, another mass grave, containing the remains of former NPA rebels who were executed by their comrades was discovered at Sitio Mount Sapang Dako, Barangay Kaulisihan, Inopacan, Leyte.

From 2009-2012, several mass graves were discovered by the soldiers of the 9th Infantry Division around the Bicol region.

Skeletal remains of NPA victims were discovered in Gubat town in Sorsogon, Bgy Taplacon in Camalig, Albay and also in Labo, Camarines Norte.

The government of President Benigno Aquino III has been attempting to resume peace negotiations with the communist rebels since last year. The CPP-NPA and its negotiating arm, the National Democratic Front however, refuse to observe a truce while talks are ongoing.

At its peak in the 1980s, NPA numbers were believed to have reached 26,000, but that is now down to only 4,000 fighters due to losses on the battlefield.

Kangaroo courts

The government alleges that in the mid-1980s, the NPA set up so-called ‘kangaroo courts’, which condemned to death hundreds believed to have become agents for the state.

Their bodies were believed to have been dumped in secret mass graves.

Various mass graves have been unearthed by the military since 2009, but Saturday’s find was believed to contain the biggest number of skeletons so far, Cabunoc said.

Major Cabunoc added that villagers interviewed by the army near the site said many of their relatives whom they had suspected of joining the NPA went missing in the 1980s and had not been heard of since.

President Benigno Aquino re-opened peace talks with the communists in February last year but the negotiations have been delayed by the rebels’ demand to release detained comrades.

It was not immediately clear how the discovery of the latest mass grave could affect the talks.

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