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Reward offered for Rebelyn killers
By Jeffrey M. Tupas
Mindanao Bureau
First Posted 01:41:00 03/19/2009
Filed Under: Regional authorities, Armed conflict, rebellion, Human
Rights, Crime
DAVAO CITY – Mayor Rodrigo Duterte has offered a P500,000 reward for
anyone who could give vital information on the identities of those who
raped and murdered 20-year-old Rebelyn Pitao, daughter of rebel leader
Leoncio Pitao.
The reward was recommended by Chief Supt. Pedro Tango, Southern Mindanao
police chief.
Dabaweños have been watching how authorities will close the case as names
of military intelligence agents have been dragged into the murder.
Supt. Querubin Manalang Jr., spokesperson of the regional PNP Command,
said the recommendation would encourage the flow of more information that
will help the Task Group Rebelyn.
The case, he said, is “complicated” because the victim was “a daughter of
a rebel and the suspects are some members of the military.”
He said the military agents who have been tagged by Rebelyn’s father,
known in the New People’s Army as Commander Parago, in the case will
remain suspects.
Police, said Manalang, asked the Eastern Mindanao Command to bring before
the Task Group Rebelyn the military agents tagged by Parago.
Senior Supt. Benedicto Gorospe, chief of the Criminal Investigation and
Detection Group, in a letter dated March 11 addressed to Maj. Gen.
Raymundo Ferrer, head of the Eastern Mindanao Command, requested that the
military agents be “directed to present themselves for investigation and
to air their side as soon as possible.”
The CIDG is part of Task Group Rebelyn with the National Bureau of
Investigation (NBI).
Those tagged by Parago were
Sgt. Ben Tipait, Sgt. Adan Masulao, Sgt. Hervin Bitang and a Cpl. Pedring
Pedregosa. Parago said they were the ones who were behind the abduction,
rape and murder of his daughter.
Supt. Tango, in a letter addressed to Parago and received by his wife,
Evangeline, also said police were “determined to bring those responsible
for their dastardly act to justice.”
“It could help our police investigators a lot if you can provide us with
the evidence, if any, that will suffice to bring the perpetrators of this
heinous murder to the bar of justice.”
Rebelyn was abducted March 4 and her body was found in an irrigation ditch
almost 24 hours after she was snatched by armed men believed to be agents
of the Eastern Mindanao Command’s military intelligence group (MIG) while
she was on her way home in Bago Gallera here. Her body was cremated March
14 following a funeral march attended by at least 5,000 people on the
streets of Davao.
Davao del Norte Gov. Rodolfo del Rosario has ordered Task Force Laya to
also investigate the death of Rebelyn. The group was created by the
provincial government to investigate the death of Danilo Pitao, uncle of
Rebelyn, who was shot dead in Tagum City last year. The Task Force Laya
also looked into the death of Javelyn Villanueva, the liaison officer of
the governor.
Villanueva was an NPA rebel before she became liaison officer of the
governor.
“Various leads have been narrowed down to few suspects,” Del Rosario said
in a statement, adding that the death of Danilo and Villanueva had a
pattern similar to that of the death of Rebelyn.
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The blood of Rebelyn Pitao is on the hands of Gloria Arroyo and Gen.
Eduardo Ermita!
The rape and murder of Rebelyn Pitao -- reprehensible act by a mercenary army!
A War Most Dirty - from Bulatlat
NZ activists: Stop political killings in RP
Posted 05:14pm (Mla time) (Mla time)
By Veronica Uy
INQUIRER..net
Human rights activists in New Zealand on Tuesday joined the European
Parliament and the Amnesty International in calling for an end to
political killings in the Philippines following the death of a communist
rebel’s daughter that leftwing groups blame on the military.
[ Read more ]
Cheryll Fiel /
Davao Today
Karaniwang amang
tumatangis si Parago sa pamamaslang sa kanyang anak. Pero kakaiba, at
rebolusyonaryo, ang paghangad niya ng hustisya.
“We’re outraged at the brutal murder of teacher Rebelyn Pitao," said
ACT national ... “We demand justice for Rebelyn Pitao. We call
on our colleagues in the ...
10 Mar 2009 ... The National Democratic Front in Mindanao condemns in
the strongest possible terms the abduction, rape and murder of civilian
Rebelyn Pitao, ...
“Whether or not the killing of Rebelyn Pitao is related to her
father’s involvement with the NPA, we should not tolerate such an atrocious
act,” he said. ...
Communist insurgents are targeting four military men for their alleged role in
the abduction, rape and murder of Rebelyn Pitao, daughter of a
regional ...
16 Mar 2009 ... Rebelyn usually arrived back home by 6:30 p.m.
each school day. But last week, Wednesday March 4, there was no sign of her.
Mrs. Pitao was ...
rebelyn-wake-jpg Rebelyn 20-year-old Rebelyn Pitao
of Carmen Davao Del Norte was employed as a substitute elementary school
teacher. ...
More details about gruesome murder of Davao del Norte elementary school
teacher Rebelyn Pitao are coming to light as the anger of militant
Filipinos simmer ...
The online version of the Philippines' leading business newspaper features
virtually all the stories and statistical data available in the print edition.
Senator Chiz Escudero on
Saturday said authorities should arrest the known suspects in the brutal
murder of Rebelyn Pitao, as he demanded that the ...
15 Mar 2009 ...
"The case of Rebelyn Pitao, an ordinary civilian whose only link to
the NPA is her being the daughter of a top rebel commander, ...
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20090308-192937/Arroyo-Probe-murder-of-rebels-daughter
The woeful state of human rights in the.
14 Mar 2009 ...
Mourners escort the body of Rebelyn Pitao, daughter of NPA
commander Leoncio Pitao, ... PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER/BARRY
OHAYLAN ...
9 Mar 2009 ...
BARRY OHAYLAN/INQUIRER MINDANAO ... The military has
consistently denied involvement in Rebelyn’s abduction and
killing. ...
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Merardo Arce Command
Southern Mindanao Regional Operations Command
New People’s Army
Press Statement
29 March 2009
NPA Indicts Gloria Arroyo et al for War Crimes, Crimes Against Humanity
and Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law in the Abduction,
Torture, Rape and Murder of Rebelyn Pitao
In the pursuit of achieving revolutionary justice for the victims of
state-sponsored terrorism and fascism, the Merardo Arce Command of the New
People's Army in Southern Mindanao formally indicts 12 officials, members,
and agents of the Military Intelligence Battalion; four officials, members
and agents of the Military Intelligence Group XI of the Intelligence
Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines; commanders of the Eastern
Mindanao Command and the 10th Infantry Division of the AFP. The AFP
commander-in-chief Gloria Arroyo along with Gen. Eduardo Ermita and AFP
chief of staff Gen. Alexander Yano were also indicted for the abduction,
torture, rape and murder of Rebelyn Pitao.
Based on the results of the investigation done by a special investigative
body created for this purpose, the Merardo Arce Command-NPA has found
prima facie facts against the following Respondents:
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Gen. Eduardo R. Ermita, Gen. Alexander B. Yano,
Maj. Gen. Raymundo B. Ferrer, Maj. Gen. Reynaldo B. Mapagu; Sgt. Ben
Tipait a.k.a. Edmar, Sgt. Romeo Marcos a.k.a. Adan Sulao, Col. Caguiwa,
Sgt. Romeo Carreon. Sgt. Helvin Bitang, Sgt. Romeo Carreon, Cpl. Orly
Pedregoza, Cpl. Winnie Carampatana, Sgt. Melvin Punla, Maj. Cabanalan,
Sgt. Caballero and other agents, members and officials of the Military
Intelligence Battalion of the 10th Infantry Division-AFP known as Hagto,
Embac, alias Ariel, alias Benjak, Reynaldo Desales a.k.a. Joemar, Sgt.
Senit, and other John and Jane Does.
An indictment dated March 29 has been issued by the Merardo Arce
Command-NPA against the above-named Respondents for acts that constitute
War Crimes, Crimes Against Humanity and other Serious Violations of Human
Rights and International Humanitarian Law. The premeditated acts of
abduction, the use of torture, sexual abuse and murder clearly violated
Protocols I and II of the Geneva Conventions that prohibits targetting
civilians and non-combatants, and violates the International Covenant for
Civil and Political Rights. The Provisions are as follows:
Article 48 (Basic Rule in Protection of Civilian Population) of Protocol I
(Relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed
Conflicts)“In order to ensure respect for and protection of the civilian
population and civilian objects, the Parties to the conflict shall at all
times distinguish between the civilian population and combatants and
between civilian objects and military objectives and accordingly shall
direct their operations only against military objectives.”
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Article 51, par 2 Protocol I
and Article 13, par 2 Protocol II: (Related to the protection of the
victims in non-international armed conflicts)"The civilian population as
such, as well as individual civilians, shall not be the object of attack.
Acts or threats of violence the primary purpose of which is to spread
terror among the civilian population are prohibited."
International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights
PART III, Art. 6, par 1: Every human being has the inherent right to life.
This right shall be protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived
of his life.
The arrest and capture of these war criminals in the course of the
people's war shall facilitate the expedition of the duties of the People's
Court established for the trial of the named accused. The Merardo Arce
Command-NPA recommends that after due trial, the accused should be meted
out with the appropriate penalties.
Their trial is in accordance with international humanitarian law and the
revolutionary legal and judicial system and processes of the People's
Democratic Government fully taking into account pertinent provisions of
the 1998 GRP-NDFP Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and
International Humanitarian Law (CAR-HR-IHL) and the 1996 NDFP Unilateral
Declaration of Undertaking to Apply the Provisions of the 1949 Geneva
Conventions and Protocol I of 1977 Thereto.
The above-named Respondents are guaranteed and shall be accorded humane
treatment should they surrender voluntarily, recognize or submit
themselves to the jurisdiction of the people's court or, in appropriate
cases, should the above-named combatants and agents be arrested in the
course of the people's war. They are guaranteed due process and all rights
appurtunent to their status and conditions under international
humanitarian law including the right to prepare and present their defense,
right to counsel, and to appeal on any decision.
The abduction, torture, rape and murder of Rebelyn Pitao serves the
interest of the regime which employs its armed forces to quell dissent,
silence its critics, sow state terrorism and attempts to suppress the
surging tide of the revolution. These criminal acts demonstrate the
desperation and utter failure of the US-Arroyo regime.
Along with the revolutionary legal and judicial processes of the People's
Democratic Government, the tactical offensives of the New People's Army
and the gains and advances of the revolutionary movement shall serve the
interest of justice.
(Sgd) RIGOBERTO F. SANCHEZ
Spokesperson
Merardo Arce Command
Southern Mindanao Regional Operations Command
New People’s Army
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