Disguised army troops kill Ilocos peasant
2 MIN READ
By KIMBERLIE OLMAYA NGABIT-QUITASOL
www.nordis.net
BAGUIO CITY — Another Ilocos Sur peasant was allegedly abducted and killed by a special commando operations unit of the 5th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army posing as long haired armed outlaws.
Nicolas Ramos, 45 , a farmer and resident of Barangay Poblacion Norte, Salcedo, Ilocos Sur was found in a shallow grave in Barangay Dinaratan also in Salcedo on September 9 after he went missing for 47 days.
According to Mila Marcelo a staff of the Ilocos Human Rights Alliance (IHRA), Ramos’ remains was found after Dinaratan barangay officials went to verify rumors of an excavation that looked like a burial site.
She said Ramos went to Barangay Dinaratan to work in the fields of a cousin on July 24 and he has not been seen since until his remains, in an advance state of decomposition were found.
“The Ramos family only learned he was missing four days after, when his son went to check on him. The family thought he was still working in Brgy. Dinaratan. His cousin, for whom he worked for, said he went home around 3:00 PM on July 24,” Marcelo said.
Marcelo explained that the said special comando team of the 5th ID is a platoon size formation that conducts clandestine operations. She said the unit assigned in Salacedo were posing as armed outlaws with long hair encamped along the Bwaya River in Salcedo, Ilocos Sur.
She said the victim frequently passed by the river where the soldiers are encamped on his way to the area where he collected things he sold. “Ramos is known to also collect and sell wild mushrooms and trades bottles to augment his income,” she said.
“In our data gathering we found out that these soldiers wear wigs and were not in uniform when they roamed the communities here. We were told that when they bathed in the river they would remove their wigs and all of them sported the army crew cut. The locals called this group of soldiers lampung (long hair)” she narrated.
Marcelo also said the comando unit disappeared after the victim’s body was found. She said Ramos might have witnessed the soldiers do something that caused his demise.
Moreover, Marcelo disclosed that residents also blame the same unit for stealing their crops and domestic animals.# nordis.net
