Mindanaotoday.com | Gov’t exhumes 5 NPA victims in AgNor
CABADBARAN CITY – Five remains of persons reported to be killed by fighters of the New People’s Army (NPA) were exhumed by government security forces in the hinterland area of Sitio Baraboto, Barangay Curva, Santiago town, Agusan del Norte on Oct. 30, 2022.
Those who dug up the carcasses were soldiers from the Phil. Army’s 29th and 36th infantry battalions, police forensics operatives, and witnessed by personnel from the nearby Santiago and Carmen police stations, by local government officials, and members of the press.
“The human remains of five (5) individuals who were allegedly abducted and massacred by the members of the Communist Terrorist Group (CTG) sometime in May 2021,” a statement from the 29th Infantry Battalion (29IB) said.
The CTG is the term used by the military to refer to members of the NPA.
The 29IB said that based on a police report and tips from reliable sources, and corroborated with information from former rebels, government soldiers were able to locate the gravesite and excavated the cadavers of the five victims with the help of the SOCO and local police.
“The wives of the victim were enraged and saddened and grieved when they saw the remains of their husbands unloaded from the Blackhawk helicopter upon their arrival in Bancasi Airport, Brgy Bancasi, Butuan City,” the 29IB said.
The victims’ remains were turned over to the SOCO for further investigation and proper disposition, it added.
Lt. Col. Cresencio Gargar, 29IB commander, said: “We were saddened about the gruesome death of the innocent civilians who were finding ways to provide food for their families. This act is a clear manifestation that shows how immoral the CTG’s are, for simply dumping the dead bodies in a shallow grave, leaving their victims without giving respect to the families of those personalities whose lives were sacrificed in the wrong ideology of the CPP-NPA-NDF.”
Gargar said the battalion has also condoled with the bereaved families.
“Rest assured that the 29IB will do its best to bring justice to these innocent civilians and intensify our operations to hunt down the CTGs,” he added. (29IB)
####