Policemen to verify Bonbon excavation

The Cebu City Police Office will field policemen to check on the reported excavation in sitio Amaga, on Cebu City's mountain barangay of Bonbon, undertaken by a team of forensic experts headed by Professor Jerome Bailen of the University of the Philippines.

The team is reportedly in search of a mass grave where NPA members believed killed by their leaders after having been suspected of being spies of the government, were reportedly buried.

Supt. Melvin Gayotin said he would order Supt. Mariano Natuel of the Service Security Group to deploy a team of cops that would verify a news report of TV Patrol Central Visayas.

He said the report saw Bailen with four other forensic experts from UP trekking up Bonbon purportedly to dig up a suspected mass grave in sitio Amaga.

Further, the report mentioned that the UP team has connections with Peace Advocated for Justice, Truth, and Healing which is a non-government organization that helps relatives of victims of atrocities seek justice.

A 35-year-old former NPA fighter who claimed to have witnessed the killings, and where the bodies were buried, accompanied the team to the area.

Gayotin pointed out that Bailen's group did not inform the CCPO of its intention. He said that though the team has not violated any law, informing the police of their intention is needed so they could be properly guided and secured.

"They are doing it at their own risk, they are doing it without coordination, they may be misinterpreted for their actions," Gayotin said.

"Mao na'y problema nato, duna gyu'y mga tawong dili mosubay sa saktong proseso," he said.

"They could have asked or even informed the CCPO about their activity. If they think CCPO could not satisfy what they want, they can always go to the Police Regional Office for complaints," Gayotin added.

In the 1980s, the said barangay was reportedly infested with NPAs that gained the backing of residents who were allegedly recruited to the movement. NPA members reportedly thrived in the area and can go from any town to another without being reported to the military.

The forensic experts are hopeful they would unearth from the mass grave the remains of couple Herculano and Luz Aniasco of Ormoc City who went missing in 1995. They were reportedly active in the movement as labor leaders. - Edwin Ian Melecio/MEEV