Timbuyog-Kaigorotan Sec. Gen. Betariz Bagiwan (right) reads a statement condemning the “illegal” arrest of Tribe Leader Ernesto Bubod (2ndfrom left) while AMGL Chairperson Joseph Canlas listens.
CABANATUAN CITY – A 54-year-old tribal leader was released from detention on Tuesday from four months of detention after his fellow tribesmen raised P40,000 for his bail.
Ernesto Bubod, vice chieftain of Kalanguya-Igorot in Sitio Maluyon, Barangay Villarica, Pantabangan, Nueva Ecija decried the continued presence of soldiers in their area even as he expressed fear for the safety of his family.
He was reportedly arrested by elements of the Philippine Army’s 81st Infantry Battalion while resting along with his wife, Lita, under a Mango tree near their house on March 22, 2011.
Bubod said he was initially questioned on the burning of a plantation owned by the Energy Development Corporation (EDC) in the area which occurred on March 17, 2011.
He was, however, officially charged with illegal possession of firearms and ammunition at the Provincial Prosecutors Office.
“I may have gained temporary liberty though bail bond but the fear is greater,” said Bubod, a member of Timpuyog Kaigorotan-Nueva Ecija.
He added that he is threatened by the presence of soldiers. Bubod lamented that his detention caused hardships to his family. “It made life suppressed for my family.”
He said that one of his children set to enroll in grade five last June did not make it because of fear.
Joseph Canlas, chairman of Alyansa ng Magbubukid sa Gtinang Luzon (AMGL), said the arrest of Bubod was an example of the negative result of the public-private partnership being pushed by the Aquino administration.
The EDC, he said, gained control and established the nursery in Sitio Maluyon as operator of a hydro-power plant in Pantabangan.
This development, he said, displaced settlers.
Bubod said he was tilling an area in the village as means of livelihood for his family. He appealed to the government to let his group produce a living without fear of harassment from its security agents.
