Lumad teacher killed in encounter

CEBU, Philippines — A lumad teacher was among those who were killed in an encounter with the military in Davao de Oro Thursday morning.

Authorities identified the fatality as Chad Booc, who was one of the seven individuals arrested by the authorities during a so-called rescue operation of the 19 minors inside a retreat house in University of San Carlos in Cebu City.

In a report of the 10th Infantry Division, the armed encounter happened early morning in Purok-8, Barangay Andap, New Bataan, Davao de Oro between the military and alleged members of Communist Terrorist Group’s (CTGs).

Aside from Booc, authorities identified other fatalities as Jojarain Alce Nguho II alias Rain, a certain alias Daday and two still unidentified males.

“In a series of armed encounters, five members of the CTG were killed in the clash, while it is believed that there are still several others wounded based on the bloodstains in the encounter site,” read the report of 10th ID, Office of the Division of Public Affairs.

Other suspected members of the CTG also allegedly managed to escape and fled towards the south after the 15-minute clash. Upon the firefight, the military found one M653 rifle, one caliber 45 pistol, one hand grenade, one anti-personnel mine, assorted food supplies, and personal belongings.

Booc was one of those who were arrested for allegedly holding several indigenous people, specifically minors, from Talaingod in Mindanao last February 15, 2021.

They were charged with violations of the Child Abuse Law, Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act, and kidnapping and serious illegal detention.

Arrested with him were Segundo Lagatos Melong, Benito Dalim Bay-ao, Moddie Langayed Mansimoy-at, Esmelito Paumba Oribawan, and Jomar Bena.

Report said they were the teachers of the bakwit school being organized inside the retreat house where the children were housed for approximately three years without their parents’ consent.

However, in May 5, 2021, court order to release them was issued when the charges hurled against them were dismissed by Office of the Provincial Prosecutor (OPP) of Davao Del Norte due to “insufficiency of evidence and lack of probable cause to support any of the crimes allegedly committed by the respondents”.

In the same report of the 10th ID, Booc graduated cum laude from the University of the Philippines-Diliman with a degree of Bachelor of Computer Science.

“He was a known activist and recruiter to the CTG even in his UP days. He was also involved in Manilakbayan, a protest march organized by the CTG involving Indigenous Peoples coming mainly from Mindanao in 2015,” their report read.

“After his college days, he volunteered as a Mathematics teacher in the Alternative Learning Center for Agricultural Development (ALCADEV) in Lianga, Surigao del Sur, and later on volunteered for the bakwit school in Cebu,” it further read.

Brigadier General Jesus P. Durante III, commander of the 1001st Brigade, said the neutralization of Booc proved that “ALCADEV, MISFI, Salugpungan, CTCSM, and others are indeed breeding grounds of the CTG.”

“We call on to the parents whose children are still with these institutions to take action. Rescue your children immediately before it’s too late. Seek help from the authorities so that we can eventually rescue them,” Durante added.

Meanwhile, the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) Cebu, the legal counsel of Booc and other individuals previously charged in Cebu, said they are “still verifying the veracity of the report”. — GMR (FREEMAN)