Families, relatives of Inopacan massacre victims feel gov't support
BAYBAY CITY, Oct. 30 (PIA) -- Rolando Malasaga, 54, a resident of barangay San Juan, Mahaplag, Leyte, still remembered how he lost his elder brother and father-in-law way back in the 1980s, in the hands of the enemies of the state, on the mere suspicion they are government spies.
Jenefer Ejoc, of Barangay Kabungaan, this city, had a similar experience, as his elder brother, Restituto, was among those who perished in the infamous Inopacan massacre, a result of mass purging of suspected informers within the ranks of CPP-NPAs.
Wives became widows, mothers longed for a lost nephews and children -- the ordeal was refreshed in a gathering at the municipal gym here Tuesday, October 29, an event preceded by a Holy Mass, a Walk for Peace around the city, with placards bearing messages of disgust on the summary executions.
The walk ended with the lighting of candles for all the dead, in a concrete slab carved with a list of their names, and a reminder, like a headline, was printed on top in bold letters, NEVER AGAIN.
They are the 135 surviving families and close relatives, each one having the same stories to tell in the dark chapter of the country’s history hereabout more than thirty years ago.
And they were gathered here to attend the special convergence mission spearheaded by the task forces to end local communist armed conflict (TF-ELCAC) from the national, regional, provincial and municipal levels.
In the program that followed, the messages expressed by government officials and functionaries were re-assuring and comforting, for they, too, felt the pain and empathized with the victims on the savagery of it all.
“We can overcome the challenge of the Inopacan massacre much like the way we overcome the challenge of Yolanda,” Leyte Gov. Leopoldo Dominico Petilla intoned, adding that in his visit last week to two hinterland barangays of Caolisihan, Inopacan and Monterico, Baybay, a budget of P10 million and P20 million, respectively, were already set aside for road improvement.
Eduardo Del Rosario, chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) who doubles as Cabinet Officer for Regional Development and Security (CORDS) for Eastern Visayas, said that in ELCAC, national agencies and the local government units work hand in hand in extending help.
Indeed, host Mayor Jose Cari of Baybay, Inopacan Mayor Azucena Mirambel, Mahaplag Mayor Daisy Lleve, and 5th District Representative Carl Nicolas Cari all vowed support to the whole-of-nation approach in ending insurgency, an idea initiated by President Duterte in November last year.
But Del Rosario has a special message for the students, the youth -- that they should not be swayed into joining the NPAs.
“Pag wala silang nare-recruit, the CPP-NPA will die,” he emphasized.
National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr., the vice-chair of the national task force-ELCAC, narrated that he had visited the gravesites in 2006 while he was still AFP Chief of Staff, and consequently, he filed a case of multiple murder against the leaders of the communist movement in a Hilongos trial court, which was later transferred in a Manila court.
“Ang kasong 'yon ay nagbunga ng pag-issue ng warrant of arrest for the more than 38 leaders of CPP-NPA, including Sison, Jalandoni, and others,” Esperon reported.
That was a giant leap of support for the 135 surviving families crying for justice for a crime committed over the past three decades, a howl reflected in the placard carried by Rolando Malasaga: “Joma Sison paulion para panubagon sa Inopacan Masaker.” (Joma Sison should be sent home for retribution. (LDL/MMP/PIA-8, Southern Leyte)
News Feed:
https://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1029453
Latest News | Philippine Information Agency
Philpar