CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – Three persons were wounded last Saturday after they were reportedly shot by security guards while they were attending a wake for a boy who was killed last Oct. 2 during a violent dispersal of alleged informal settlers in Block 7, Barangay San Roque in Tarlac City.
The Anakpawis party list and the human rights group Karapatan in Central Luzon said the latest incident happened after some 20 security guards confronted sympathizers who were at the wake of John Cali Lagrimas, 15, who died after sustaining a bullet wound in his chest during a police-led dispersal in the same area Monday last week.
Jose Lamon, chairperson of Anakpawis in Barangay San Roque, said the security guards, led by one Dennis Junio, initially confronted the sympathizers at the wake on their alleged illegal occupation of a privately owned land in Purok 7.
Junio reportedly owned the land occupied by some 40 families in Purok 7.
Lamon said that after a heated confrontation, the security guard allegedly fired at the sympathizers.
He identified the wounded as April Joy Sangalang, Ariel Valdez and Dante Yumang. They were rushed to the Ramos Hospital in Tarlac City.
“It is very tragic for us that we are being treated as animals. We are yet to bury Lagrimas and are still mourning and here they come shooting us with their firearms. They have no respect for Lagrimas’ wake and again they try to kill us,” Lamon said.
Lamon cited the settlers as saying that Junio had no proof of his ownership of the land they occupied and that there is a pending motion before the local court for nullification of an earlier order for them vacate the land.
He stressed that the settlers have been occupying the property for about 50 years.
“Two wounded residents are already discharged from the Ramos Hospital while the other victim was still under observation due to unrecovered slugs,” he reported.
Residents said that the demolition last October 2 was illegal but some of their houses were demolished anyway by a composite team of about 200 members of demolition team, 100 policemen from Camp Macabulos in Tarlac City and Camp Olivas in San Fernando, Pampanga and 20 elements of SWAT team.
Karapatan said that “the residents especially women and children of Barangay San Roque were traumatized by the violent incident.”
“Anakpawis Tarlak and Central Luzon condemn this brutal act of security guards to the residents of San Roque, Tarlac. It is very clear that this is another desperate act to evict the residents from their land,”Joseph Canlas, regional coordinator of Anakpawis.
