DAVAO REPORT

The first victim of extrajudicial killings in Davao City was in 1996, right inside the grounds of the City Hall. Three years later, and with more than 50 reported victims, the local government of Davao City, headed by then-Mayor Benjamin de Guzman, had yet to make an arrest or even identify a suspect. Accordingly, the problem only worsened, and the incidents of killings became closer to one other.

The death of two minors of Davao City, Roy roy and May may, in broad daylight on July 6, 1999, illustrated just how grave the situation had become. Human rights organizations working with the street children of the city were alarmed.  Pilgrim Bliss Gayo-Guasa, program director of Tambayan, a center for the care of abused children, wrote to Fr. Shay Cullen, the founder and executive director of the PREDA Foundation, asking for support to stop the senseless deaths and harassment of children in Davao City.

As a staunch defender of children’s rights, the PREDA Foundation sent a letter of protest to the Davao City Hall and encouraged its international contacts to do the same. In his letter, Fr. Shay challenged Mayor de Guzman to bring to justice on those responsible for the murder of the children in his locality. He also appealed to the Presidential Committee for the Protection of Children for direct action to stop the murders, especially since the local government seemed unable to do so.  

Letters of protest from all over the world flooded the Davao City Hall.  Mayor Benjamin de Guzman filed a P50-million libel suit against Fr. Cullen on October 27,1999. The mayor said Fr. Cullen’s letter besmirched his reputation and that of Davao City’s as a coddler of vigilantes.  He also stated that the letter insinuated that the killing of defenseless street children was a daily occurrence in his city.  The ensuing legal battle between the mayor and Fr. Cullen ended only in February of 2001, when de Guzman withdrew the case citing “more pressing demands of the city that needs urgent attention”.

Three months later, elections at both the national and local levels were held within the country. With the change of leadership in Davao City, from then-Mayor Benjamin de Guzman to Mayor-elect Rodrigo Duterte, citizens hoped to see an alteration in the manner in which the city was run.  However, shortly after Mayor Duterte was sworn into office, the Davao Death Squad once again resumed its operations. It even spread to nearby cities and municipalities, specifically to Digos, Tagum and Tandag.

The fact is that a death threat still looms over the young people on the streets in the provinces of Davao and now, Surigao del Sur.  Children who are targeted as “unsightly nuisances”, once again risk being gunned down while out in public areas.  Bernie Mahusay, a 17-year old robbery suspect, was shot while playing card games along R. Castillo Street on October 23, 2001.  In the case of 15-year old Anthony Quinensao, three unidentified gunmen fired at him while he was attending a dance party on April 4, 2002.  Within minutes, he succumbed to the multiple gunshot wounds in his head and body. It was later learned that the teenager had been helping his family out financially by working with his father in construction (“Church denounces spate of killings”, Sunstar Davao, 9 April 2002).

Furthermore, ever since the city mayor of Davao launched an all-out war against drug traffickers, cellphone snatchers, and most recently, youth gangs, the alleged perpetrators have had a hey-day, killing even those teenagers who are rumored to be remotely connected with the above-mentioned groups. Jayson Libatan, 22, a suspected drug pusher and snatcher was shot dead in Barangay 39-D, Davao City. He succumbed to a fatal wound in the head and was declared dead on arrival at the Ricardo Limso Medical Center (“Church denounces spate of killings”, Sunstar Davao, 9 April 2002).

The harsh reality is that not only are the lives of the targeted children made vulnerable in these rampages, but the lives of their friends are also endangered by association. On the evening of April 6, 2002, two minors were shot down while they were “sitting on a tricycle” with another companion in Barrio Obrero, Davao City. Obet Lorejo, 17, died on the spot while Ryan Pilay, 16, managed to run off with the other unidentified companion. Still, the suspects who were riding a motorcycle caught up with them. Pilay was found dead in the morning of the following day. It has been suggested that the real suspect was Pilay, a known akyat-bahay gang member, not Lorejo (Tupas, Jeff. “Bike-riding men kill two minors”, Sunstar Davao, 9 April 2002).

The perpetrators of the killings continue to be individuals who pose as vigilant citizens concerned with upholding the peace and order of the local communities.  In reality, the suspected killers are usually motorcycle-riding armed men who target isolated individuals or kill “en masse”.  At the beginning of December 2001, the Digos Death Squad gunned down five suspected drug pushers, including Berna Sanguiel who was believed to be one of the biggest retailers of shabu in Digos City (Allada, Anthony and Allan Nawal. “Drug suspects falling like bowling pins”, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 5 December 2001). In a span of three days in January 2002, the same death squad killed at least four individuals. The last two victims, killed on 18 January, were a 34-year man and a young woman shot at close range by the motorcycle-riding gunmen (Allada, Anthony. “Vigilante killings won’t stop”, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 22 January 2002). Three suspected drug pushers – Sonny Anito, Reynante Cansancio, and Bernardo Solana – were also shot to their deaths on 10 March.  Anito was a convicted drug pusher out on probation for theft charges and Cansancio was a known shabu peddler (Allada, Anthony. “Death squad ends vacation, kills 3,” Philippine Daily Inquirer, 13 March 2002).

In response to these atrocities, influential community leaders have appealed to local government units and police forces for an investigation of the uncontrolled violence.

Bishop Nerio Ochimar of the Archdiocese of Tandag requested that the police investigate those who were behind the summary executions of suspected drug users and pushers in Surigao del Sur. At least 10 people have been shot and killed since August of 2001, supposedly by an anti-drug vigilante group (Allada, Anthony and Franklin Caliguid. “Bishop demands probe of Surigao Sur killings”, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 17 January 2002. In November 2001, Davao City Archbishop Renandop Capalla wrote a pastoral letter entitled “Thou Shalt Not Kill”. It was read in all of the parishes of the archdiocese that same week (“Church denounces spate of killings”, Sunstar Davao, 9 April 2002

Some officials have been responding positively to these urgent calls for action and information on the killings has been gathered and studied. Late in 2001, PNP Regional Director Chief Supt. Eduardo Matillano created “Task Force Vigilance” to investigate the killings of the vigilantes. The Integrated Bar of the Philippines, Davao Chapter, also expressed alarm over the spate of vigilante-related deaths. In a 3-page long resolution, the lawyers said that the killings deprive the victims of the due trial process that is guaranteed by the constitution as a “sacred and inviolable right” (Allada, Anthony. “Davao killins alarm lawyers,” Philippine National Inquirer, 29 October 2001

Still, the joint front being presented by the police forces and government officials is not always unified. The provincial police director of Surigao del Sur, Edgar Deramas, denied that there was even a vigilante group operating in the province. He said that the police had no ideas as to the identities of the killers in the reported cases. Rather, he suggested that the executions could be a part of a “cleansing process” by a local drug syndicate (Allada, Anthony and Franklin Caliguid. “Bishop demands probe of Surigao Sur killings”, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 17 January 2002. In Davao City, police officials confirmed that they have conducted overt and covert operations in the city’s known hotbeds of crime, putting up additional outposts at the same time as conducting undercover intelligence work (Cayon, Manual. “Operations in Davao crime havens confirmed by cops,” Today, 13 March 2002

There is also controversial talk surfacing which points to a possible team-up between governing officials, the police and members of the various vigilante groups. A local government official in Surigao del Sur said that he suspected that top local officials were behind the mysterious killings in the province (Allada, Anthony and Franklin Caliguid. “Bishop demands probe of Surigao Sur killings”, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 17 January 2002). After Davao City Mayor threatened to employ a martial-law type operation on Isla Verde, the City Police Director, Wilfredo Garcia admitted that his men “went around the place… one of the most problematic areas in the city… and [our] biggest headache” (Cayon, Manual. “Operations in Davao crime havens confirmed by cops,” Today, 13 March 2002). Yet, when the “Task Force Vigilance” probed for the alleged links of the death squads with the Davao City mayor Duterte, the report findings indicated that there was nothing to suggest a connection between the two (“Church denounces spate of killings”, Sunstar Davao, 9 April 2002

The issues are complicated and confusions abound. But even in a climate of uncertainly and mysteriousness, the reality is that over the last five years, more than 80 children and youth suspected of acts such as pick-pocketing and drug pushing have fallen victim to what are identified only as “Death Squads”. Every week, teenagers are being killed in drive-by shootings by motorcycle-riding armed men and not enough has been done to protect them from these horrendous acts. Local, national and international communities must mobilize for their cause. Now is the time to take action!

There are several NGOs currently involved in the process of trying to halt these brutal killings of children and youth and seeking retribution for the perpetrators. To join the network or request more information, please contact the following organizations:

PREDA Foundation, Inc.
Upper Kalaklan,
Olongapo City 2200
Telefax: (047) 223-9629
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.preda.org

Tambayan Center for the Care of Abused Children
Pilgrim Bliss Gayo-Guasa
Coordinator
63 Artiaga St., PO Box 81437,
Davao City 8000
Telefax: (082) 222-1025
Email: [email protected]
Website: //davao.fapenet.org/~tambayan

Kabiba Alliance of Children’s Concern
May-May Macla or Ariel
Door 1, 2/F Vias Court, 53 Legazpi St.,
Davao City
Tel: (082) 227-1850
Email: [email protected]

Visayan Forum Foundation
Dayana Ingga
305 GTS Bldg. Corner Lapu-lapu and Bangoy Sts., Agdao
Tel: (082) 227-5282
Email: [email protected]
Talikala Foundation Eunice Casiple, Exec. Director #2 Stutnik St., Doña Vicenta Village, Davao City Tel: (082) 221-6728 Email: [email protected]