In this photo taken on May 16, 2024, Philippine fishermen aboard their wooden boat catch fish in South China Sea. (Photo by Ted ALJIBE / AFP)
MASINLOC, Zambales – An official of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) has confirmed that the agency will investigate the government troops’ alleged harassment of fishermen here.
In a phone interview on Friday, Jason Carmona, special investigator of CHR Regional Office 3, said he sent an email to Pamalakaya National Chairperson Fernando Hicap so that the agency “can initiate probing [the] allegations of red-tagging.”
On June 22, Hicap filed a complaint addressed to CHR Chairperson Richard Palpal-latoc for an immediate investigation into the series of alleged intimidation perpetrated by the Philippine Army’s 69th Infantry Battalion (IB) against members of Panatag.
Panatag is a group of local fishermen and a Pamalakaya-affiliated group in this town that joined the collective fishing expedition to assert the country’s sovereign rights over the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
“We hope that the progress of the investigation will also be swift, leading to competent action against the proven elements of the 69th IB involved in the violation,” Hicap said in a separate phone interview.
Pamalakaya said on June 1, a staff sergeant from the 69th IB visited Julius Ecijan, the president of Panatag, and asked him about the collective fishing expedition and other information about their group, Pamalakaya, and their whereabouts.
On June 12, the staff sergeant returned to the community but failed to talk to the local leader because the latter was out at sea. The army official spoke with other members of the local association and asked them the same questions about their group and Pamalakaya. The members also reported that the army was showing them photos of some of Pamalakaya organizers, whom the army accused of being recruiters for the New People’s Army (NPA), Pamalakaya said.
The next day, the army officer went to the houses of those who joined the fishing expedition to ask them the same questions, the group added.
Hicap said the grounds for holding those responsible for red-tagging are now even stronger because of the Supreme Court’s recent decision against it.
“We also encourage human rights advocates to condemn the AFP for turning their courage to Filipino fishermen while colluding with the foreign usurpers of our territory,” he added in Filipino.
On June 18, Lt. Col. Sonny Dungca, commander of the 69th IB, said they would conduct further investigation to confirm if the incidents were true, adding that there may be other entities “that are just using this situation to exploit these locals and even dragging our unit.”
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Dungca also said the 69th IB and the fishermen have the same objective: to preserve the integrity of the country’s territory and to protect the Filipino people.
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