Luisita farm workers recount Palparan’s terror campaign inside hacienda

Luisita farm workers recount Palparan’s terror campaign inside hacienda

Retired Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan served former Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo well as chief implementer of Oplan Bantay Laya, and the Cojuangcos as ‘protector’ of their landholdings. Is it any wonder why, despite being subject to manhunt, he is still at large?
By RONALYN V. OLEA
Bulatlat.com

HACIENDA LUISITA, Tarlac City– It took seven years before Eliza Baldiviano, a resident of barangay Balete in this city, could retell the horror she went through at the height of the implementation of Oplan Bantay Laya (OBL), the counterinsurgency program of the Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo administration.

Facing members of a fact-finding mission, March 10, Baldiviano related: “Sometime in 2005, Rizal Hilario went to our house. He told me that he could arrest me for being a member of the NPA [New People’s Army]. He said, ‘You were in the mountains for years, you are an NPA.’ I said to him I did nothing wrong,” Baldiviano said, her eyes welled up in tears. “Then he asked me what Rene Galang, Satur Ocampo and Liza Maza had been telling me.”

At that time, Galang was the chairman of United Luisita Workers Union (Ulwu) that led the strike of farm workers in November 2004 while Ocampo and Maza were representatives of Bayan Muna who supported the strike.

Hilario repeatedly went to Baldiviano’s house, causing her anxiety. Hilario is known by human rights groups as the right hand of retired Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan Jr., who, at that time, was commanding general of the 7th Infantry Division. The 7th ID covers the seven provinces of the region, including Tarlac. In December 2011, Palparan and Hilario, along with two others, have been charged with serious illegal detention and kidnapping in relation to the enforced disappearance of University of the Philippines (UP) students Karen Empeño and Sherlyn Cadapan. Both remain at large to this day.

Eliza Baldiviano recounts the incidents of harassment she experienced during Palparan’s terror campaign inside the hacienda .(Photo by Ronalyn V. Olea / bulatlat.com)

“There were many victims of human rights violations at the time of Hilario and Palparan but they were afraid to speak back then,” Florida Sabangan, leader of Alyansa ng Manggagawang Bukid sa Asyenda Luisita (Ambala) said.

A former member of Citizens Armed Force Geographical Unit (Cafgu), Orlando Martinez also recalled his experience in the hands of Palparan’s men. “On December 22, 2005, Palparan’s men were having a drinking spree. They saw me and invited me to join them.

After taking a shot, Col. Lobosta asked me to go inside the house they were renting. He suddenly pushed me to the wall. ‘Why, sir?’ I asked. He accused me of providing information on their activities to the leaders of people’s organizations.”

“I denied doing such. He put a silencer on his 45 caliber pistol and pointed it to my mouth. I told him ‘I was not doing anything wrong against you.’ He did not pull the trigger,” Martinez said. He somehow managed to escape from the situation. He went straight to the house of then barangay chairman Rodel Galang to seek refuge..... MORE

Source:  Bulatlat.com

URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2012/03/14/luisita-farm-workers-recount-palparan%E2%80%99s-terror-campaign-inside-the-hacienda/