PHILIPPINES: An indigenous leader who opposed mining disappeared

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is greatly concerned about the disappearance of an indigenous leader in Sultan Kudarat. The victim and his group were opposed to the operation of logging and mining by big corporations in their communities. He was last seen alive with security guards of the mining firm he was opposing. 

CASE DETAILS: (Based on the documentation by Alliance for the Advancement of Peoples Rights (KARAPATAN))

On 30 April 2015, John Calaba, 28, Public Information officer of Kisasabanay Dulangan Manobo (KIDUMA), an indigenous peoples’ organisation in Sultan Kudarat, disappeared. John was sitting in front of his house in Barangay (village) Salangsang, Lebak, Sultan Kudarat when security guards attached to David M. Consunji, Inc. (DMCI), namely Christopher dela Cruz, Loloy Aquino and Jayjay Cruz, approached him. The group invited John to their outpost in Barangay Sabanal for a meal. John was last seen alive with them. Prior to the incident, the guards were persistently attempting to befriend John.

John Calaba/Photo by Karapatan

According to Timoteo Asong, a worker at the water reservoir owned by the DMCI, he last saw John alive at the outpost eating. John even invited him to eat with them. After 20 minutes, Timoteo heard gunfire coming from the outpost. When the villagers went to the outpost, the guards shouted not to get near claiming there are “enemies” and they might get caught in the crossfire. The villagers were told to go home.

At 10:30 a.m., when the gunfire subsided, Marcial Usong, also a resident at Sitio Salabantaran saw six company guards near the outpost, carrying something wrapped in canvass and loading it into an elf truck. The truck left a trail of blood. After that, John never returned from the outpost. The heavy presence of military and company guards hinder the efforts to get more details on the incident and to check on a report that a resident in a nearby village saw a corpse buried. 

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

The Armed Forces of the Philippines, specifically the 38th Infantry Battalion Philippine Army, train the members of the Special Civilian Armed Auxiliary (SCAA), a paramilitary group similar to the Citizen Auxiliary Force Geographical Unit (CAFGU) to protect the interests of mining corporations.

It is alleged that the security attached to the David M. Consunji, Inc. (DMCI) in Barangay (village) Sabanal, Kalamansig, Sultan Kudarat have had their training from the Armed Forces of the Philippines as Special Civilian Armed Auxiliary (SCAA). The AFP’s SCAA were employed by the DMCI as early as 2008 to “secure” its business interests in different parts of the country such as in Mobo, Masbata, in Sta. Cruz, Zambales, and in Sultan Kudarat, Calaba’s hometown.

In 2008, the DMCI Mining Corp. (DMCI-MC) confirmed the “cooperation” with the AFP in securing at least 3,700-hectares of ore-rich land in Sta. Cruz, Zambales through a memorandum of agreement (MOA) between the Army’s 7th Infantry Division.

The Consunji’s landed as one of the 500 richest people in the world with the net worth of USD 4.1B, according to Forbes magazine. People like Calaba are doubly exploited and oppressed—deprived of their lands and livelihood, and now, deprived of their liberty. 

SUGGESTED ACTION: 
Please write letters to the concerned authorities listed below expressing your concern about this case.

The AHRC is also writing a separate letter to the UN Special Rapporteurs on the situation of human rights defenders and on the rights of indigenous people.

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