Village councilman, accused as NPA tax collector, shot and decapitated, in Guinobatan, Albay province, Philippines

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Urgent Action Alerts KARAPATAN

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Nov 15, 2012, 6:10:38 AM11/15/12

Village councilman, accused as NPA tax collector,

shot and decapitated, in Guinobatan, Albay province, Philippines

UA No: 2012-11-01

UA Case :	Extrajudicial killing; Desecration of remains
Victim/s :	ELY M. OGUIS Male, 60 years old, married Baranggay (village) councilor of Cabaloaon Member, Albay People’s Organization
Place of Incident :	Sitio Palapbuton, Brgy. Cabaloaon, Municipality of Guinobatan, province of Albay
Date of Incident :	November 11, 2012
Alleged Perpetrator(s) :	Unidentified assailant/s believed to be members of the 2^nd Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army

Account of the Incident:

On November 11, 2012, Ely Oguis left his home at 7:00 am to report for duty as village councilor at Baranggay Cabaloaon Hall. His stayed at the baranggay hall from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm, and did not immediately go home. As his practice, Ely socialized with neighbors and other village residents after work.

On the evening of November 11, Ely met with fellow baranggay councilor Juanito Samaupan, and neighbor Rodrigo Mirabite for a drink. They were joined in by 2^nd IBPA detachment commander Corporal Gilbert Ramos and another soldier known only as “Patoy”.

According to Sumaupan, the group had a few bottles of beer elsewhere before they transferred to another store owned by Ely’s daughter Marlyn. The two soldiers left past 10:00 pm, and Ely followed shortly at around 10:30 pm.

Around 11:00 in the evening, some of the residents heard a volley of gunfire that lasted for a few seconds. Councilor Sumaupan later went to Marlyn, who is also a neighbor, to check with if Ely arrived home safely. Marlyn called up her sibling and was told that Ely was not home yet. Not suspecting anything, Sumaopan went back home.

On November 12, 2012, around 1:00am, village councilor Minda Samaupan, with three others were on their way home from a wake in another village in Brgy. Batbat. When they reached Sitio Palapbuton, Brgy. Cabaloaon, the group’s flashlight shone upon a person lying along the road. At first, the group thought the person was just drunk and asleep but they were surprised when they saw that the person was beheaded.

They immediately informed the village chief. But because the road is dark, the village chief and other councilors decided to wait for daylight. At around 5:00am, village officers examined the body. They found the decapitated head more than a meter away from the body, almost buried in mud, and identified it as Ely Oguis. The ears were hacked off and were never found.

Ely’s wife and other family members were immediately informed. The cadaver was brought to a funeral parlor in Guinobatan town proper for autopsy.

Initial information gathered by Karapatan-Bikol revealed that Ely sustained five gunshot wounds in the chest causing severe damage to the lungs and heart. The decapitated head also bore signs of being hit a hard object.

Conflicting statements were issued by the AFP. On November 12, Major Narzan Obuyes, spokesperson of the 2^nd Infantry Batallion, issued a statement to the media that an armed encounter between the New People’s Army and military occurred at the AFP detachment in Brgy. Cabaloaon[1]. According to Col. Ricardo Visaya, commanding officer of the 901^st Brigade based in Daraga, Albay, Ely Oguis was an NPA tax collector and may have been killed by the NPA as punishment for not remitting collections[2]. Spokesperson of the Philippine Army 9^th Infantry Division, Maj. Angelo Guzman, reported to the media that Oguis, who was small-scale coconut plantation owner, was killed by the NPA for not paying taxes to the revolutionary group[3].

The NDFP-Bicol however denied these accusations by the military and issued a statement saying that there was neither NPA presence in the village nor an encounter.[4].

In July 2011, there was heavy deployment of soldiers from the 2^nd IB to 11 villages in Guinobatan, Albay, including Brgy. Cabaloaon. The soldiers temporarily used the Baranggay Hall as their detachment before setting up their own detachment in the village center, near the Baranggay Hall.

Karapatan-Bicol documented several cases of threats and harassment of residents by soldiers, including Ely. On August 21, 2011, soldiers known only as Ontolan and Amolar invited Ely to the military detachment near the Baranggay Hall. According to Ely’s sworn statement, Ontolan and Amolar accused him of being a member of the NPA, and told him to leave the group. Ely vehemently denied the accusations and asserted that he is village councilor.

Karapatan noted that the military made a similar statement on to the killing of Bayan Muna member Rodel Estrellado.

Rodel was abducted in a village in Malilipot, Albay on February 25, 20ll, by four armed men who introduced themselves as member of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency. Maj. Harold Cabunoc, then spokesperson of the 9^th ID, also announced to the media that an encounter between soldiers and NPA occurred in Brgy. Buluang, Municipality of Bato, Camarines Sur which resulted in the death of an “NPA member Elmer Estrellado.” The remains of Rodel Estrellado were found by his family on February 27, 2011 at a funeral parlor under the name Elmer Estrellado.

UA Date :

15 November 2012

Recommended Action:

Please send letters, emails or fax messages calling for:

The immediate formation of an independent fact-finding and investigation team composed of representatives from human rights groups, the Church, local government, and the Commission on Human Rights that will look into the extrajudicial killing and desecration of remains of village councilor Ely Oguis.
The military to stop the labeling and targeting of human rights defenders as “members of front organizations of the communists” and “enemies of the state.”
The Philippine Government to withdraw its counterinsurgency program Oplan Bayanihan, which victimizes innnocent and unarmed civillians
The Philippine Government to be reminded that it is a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and that it is also a party to all the major Human Rights instruments, thus it is bound to observe all of these instruments’ provisions.

You may send your communications to:

H.E. Benigno C. Aquino III

President of the Republic

Malacañang Palace,

JP Laurel St., San Miguel

Manila Philippines

Voice: (+632) 564 1451 to 80

Fax: (+632) 742-1641 / 929-3968

E-mail: o...@president.gov.ph

Sec. Teresita Quintos-Deles

Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process

Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP)