New Cagayan de Oro 'killing fields' yield 50 skeletal remains

DAVAO CITY - At least 50 skeletal remains, including those of women and children believed to have been killed by the New People's Army (NPA), were dug up in three mass graves in Cagayan de Oro City last Saturday.

Police and Army troops started digging at the site in Sitio Bitaog in Barangay Taglomao after receiving information from one Andres Bacu.

Bacu told police he saw NPA guerrillas killed the victims at the height of the communist insurgency in 1985 and 1986, when he was a 12-year-old sixth grader.

The women were killed through the unorthodox method of pulling out something from their sexual organs with the use of forceps, he added.

He also reported seeing two couples shot in front of their children, who were also killed after they had begged the killers to spare the lives of their parents.

Pieces of clothing that were found attached to the skeletons could confirm the allegations of Bacu that the victims were killed by the NPA.

He said the rebels were led by Loreto Cagais, Sammy Buntag and Meriam Purcray, all officials of the Northern Mindanao Regional Committee Front 12.

In the 1980s, the NPA conducted a bloody purge of its ranks to flush out deep penetration agents (DPAs) that the military had "planted" in the rebel movement.

Military authorities estimate the NPA killed more than 4,000 people during the purge, which was known as "Operation Zombie," and that some of the victims were actually DPAs while the others were merely suspects.

Of the thousands killed, authorities have so far dug up the remains of 416 victims.

Police and soldiers found strands of rope at the "killing fields," which are believed to have been used in tying the victims' hands before they were shot.

The remains of the victims will be buried this morning after funeral services at Cagayan de Oro City Hall, according to Maj. Johnny Macanas, information officer of the Army's 4th Infantry Division (ID).

Brig. Gen. Roy Cimatu, 4th ID commander, said leaders of the Communist Party of the Philippines, including Jose Ma. Sison and Luis Jalandoni, will be charged at the City Prosecutor's Office for the mass killing.

Villagers will hold a rally in the main thoroughfares of Cagayan de Oro City today to protest the NPA atrocities and to show their indignation to the communist movement.