LORETO, Agusan del Sur---At least a
thousand of lumads (indigenous people) line the streets to pay respects to the
slain mayor of this hinterland town who was brought back here for a 3-day
mourning on Friday (October 23).
A
30-vehicle convoy that carried the remains of Mayor Dario Otaza, 53, and his
27-yr old son, Daryl, left Bollozos
Funeral Homes in Butuan City at around 8:00am. Among those who accompanied the
group were local officials, members of the security forces and lumad leaders.
In
Bunawan town, students of a public school joined the estimated 300 people who
released white balloons as the vehicles passed by.
Mayor
Edwin Cox Elorde, Bunawan town’s chief executive, said that Otaza is one of the
best leaders in the province.
“He
has accomplished so much in his 2-year stint as town mayor. Aside from his
successful implementation of badly needed infrastructure projects, he was also
able to convince at least 250 NPA members to lay down their arms and go back to
mainstream society,” said Elorde, a close relative of Otaza.
As
the convoy approached Loreto town at around 2:45 pm, more and more people took
to the streets, waving white flaglets to pay their respects to the Manobo
leader who gave them hope and inspiration.
Hundreds
more residents patiently waited at the town hall as the hearse carrying the coffins
entered the premises at around 3:20pm. River of tears flowed as six pallbearers
transferred the coffins at the receiving area of the town’s administration
building.
Mayor
Salimar Mondejar of Veruela town said that Otaza was a big loss for the Manobo
tribe and the indigenous people as a whole. He said that it is time for the
lumads to be united for peace.
“We
are all brothers. We should not kill each other to push our our own beliefs and
purposes,” said Mondejar who is himself a lumad.
Murder raps
Also
on Friday, the provincial police has filed a string of criminal cases such as
kidnapping, robbery and murder against NPA personalities at the City Prosecutor’s
Office in Butuan City.
Cpt
Patrick Martinez, the spokesperson of the Army’s 4th Infantry
Division, said that among those who are currently facing criminal cases are
Rene Catarata (Hector Tindugan) and 7 others who were known only through their
aliases (Mar, Janib, Cyrus, Thursday, Charlie, Max, and, Igan/Noel. A certain
Leonardo Cancamo, the owner of the Starex van that was used by the NPA, was
also included in the charge sheet.
Martinez
said that the affidavits of the witnesses were taken by police investigators
and were reviewed by Hon. Nemeson Canete, the DOJ prosecutor.
NPA lumads
In
another development, the Army’s 10th Infantry Division based in
Compostela Valley reported that 5 lumad leaders of the New People’s Army have
recently surrendered to its subordinate line units. Captain Ryan Batchar, the
division spokesperson said that among those who surrendered on October 20 are
known by their aliases as Idol, Ian, John-john, and Anjie.
Lumad
groups are currently fighting a faction of their fellow lumads who have
remained with the NPA. As of today, the Army has accounted at least 360 lumads
who had been killed by the New People’s Army since 1988.
It can be recalled that there were lumads in
CARAGA region who joined the NPA after signing the Magdel-ay agreement in 1994
but most of them bolted out of the armed group after the NPA cancelled the
agreement in 2004 due to disagreements over the control of resources inside the
ancestral domain
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