Edsa group raises more questions over Negros killings
The August Twenty-One Movement (Atom) on Saturday called for an impartial probe into the deaths of 19 individuals killed by Army troops in Negros Occidental last month after autopsies of five bodies raised questions regarding the controversial clash.
The group, which was formed in condemnation of Benigno Aquino Jr.’s murder in 1983, said it shares the questions of forensic pathologist Dr. Raquel Fortun regarding the clash between Army soldiers and New People’s Army (NPA) rebels on April 19.
“While we support the military’s campaign of peace and order in the country, we do not condone or tolerate unnecessary violence or violations of human rights and humanitarian laws,” said Atom.
“It is not enough to say that the victims in Negros were armed rebels and declare it ‘case closed.’ Human rights are not suspended even in an instance of an armed clash or war,” the group said.
The military said that the 19 people who died during the encounter were NPA guerrillas, but the rebel group claimed only 10 of the individuals, while the other nine were civilians.
Among those who died were community journalist RJ Nichole Ledesma, University of the Philippines students Alyssa Alano and Maureen Keil Santuyo, community researcher Errol Wendel, and Filipino American activists Kai Dana-Rene Sorem and Lyle Prijoles.
At the request of the families, Fortun performed autopsies on the bodies of two females and three males as an independent nongovernment forensic examiner.
“Why were the victims shot in the back, if it was an ‘encounter’? Why the supposed mishandling of the victims’ clothes and other pieces of evidence, including the process of retrieving their bodies?” Atom asked.
The group also questioned if those who died were truly in any position to fight back, raising concerns that the case may be reminiscent of the drug war-era narrative of “nanlaban” or when alleged drug suspects were killed for supposedly fighting back.
