On September 8th, 2004, at 530AM, in Tagum City's Barangay Bincungan, Oslamic Ladia was standing outside him home in Purol Gumamela's Sitio Talaba, getting ready for another long day as a far labourer when he was shocked to see an entire platoon of soldiers from the 44 DRC (Division Reconnaissance Company) jogging down the dirt road leading off of National Hiway 200 meters away, in full combat array. Quickly running inside his home he grabbed his live in lover Rosalim Padama, then aged 39, out of bed and threw the terrified woman onto the floor before covering her with his body. Moments later their "nipa" (bamboo framed and palm leaf thatched home) and didn't stop for at least 10 minutes. When it did stop they heard their neighbour Carmen "Carmelita" Baluyo Japalali screaming at her front door before a short fussilade of bullets drowned her out.
When the smoke cleared the man and his wife cautiously peered out of their home and saw his landlord, Bacur's eldest brother Talib Japalali, running down the street towards them, the soldiers having receded into the evening, heading back towards National Hiway. Joining Talib the three of them walked into his nextdoor neighbour's home to find Carmen badly wounded, but still alive. In a corner of the room lay Talib's brother, Carmen's husband, 37 year old AbuBacar "Bacar" Japalali on his sleeping mat under the mosquito net, killed as he slept. Grabbing Carmen the three of them helped the woman up and took her to a mission clinic, but as they turned onto National Hiway they too came under fire from the soldiers though by now the soldiers had begun moving up hill into the mountains. Finally, after what must have seen like a lifetime, they arrived at the clinic only to find that Carmen had died just after arrival. 19 year old Carmen had been three months pregnant.
Less than 48 hours later Talib filed two murder cases with the Tagum City Prosecutor's Office charging the entire platoon, in this case thirty-two men, backed by the eye witness testimony of Oslam Ladia and Rosalim Padama. Not suprisingly the Military had announced that a platoon from the 44 DRC had killed "two NPA guerillas" in a 15 minute firefight. On October 4th an NGO filed a petition with the Ombudsman's Office, followed by a petition backed by an affadavit sworn out by Carmen's father, Rodolfo Baluyo, given to the Davao City line office of the Commission on Human Rights, or CHR. On December 17th Tagum City Prosecutor Francisco G. Rivero issued his finding that there was nothing to indicate that the soldiers were doing anything criminal and had acted in good faith.
For its official response the AFP gave up on the ridiculous but often used "NPA" alibi and instead noted that Bacar Japalali was a known member of the BMA, or Bangsamoro Army as the armed wing of the MNLF is known, a fact they were undoubtedly happy to discover although they never bothered explaining what made them first imagine that the sleeping couple had been "NPA guerillas." The Military's story continued that as the platoon was on patrol in response to recent sightings of fourty-odd BMA guerillas, they were minding their own business when Bacar Japalali fired his M16 at the column of soldiers and initiated a fierce firefight that resulted in his own death and that of his pregnant wife. Interestingly, the initial response is that there had been sightings of twenty-five guerillas and that they had been NPA (Maoists). The AFP unequivocally stated that Japalali and his wife were known NPA guerillas.
However, on September 21st, 2005, a prosecutor within the Ombudsman's Office, Beda A.Epres, who had re-opened the case two months before after a review of the case brought up some very troubling points puts the charges back into play. Most curiously, a parrafin assay had been done on both Bacar Japallali's hands after his death (Chemistry Report #C-026-2004DN). The simple procedure is used to determine whether or not a subject has had his bare hands exposed while firing a firearm. The test came up negative which seriously called into question the Tagum City Prosecutor's determination several months before. In fact, the initial police report (Davao del Norte Police Provincial Office Scene of the Crime findings, SOCO Report 002-04) citing Tagum City CPO (City Police Office) in a CPO reported filed on September 13th had Mr.Japalali's body being initially found lying prone on a sleeping mat under a mosquito net inside his home (strange place to initiate a firefight with a moving column of soldiers in the street). In light of this and other re-assesments, Prosecutor Epres re-opened the case and had all thirty-two platoon members charged with two counts of Murder.
On Janurary 24th, 2006 the case finally entered the court system and was docketed as two separare murder cases in Regional Trial Court Branch #31 in Tagum City (Cases # 14958 and 14959). As per Standard Operating Procedure the case was raffled off for assignation before landing in the hands of Judge Justino G.Aventurado who then promptly sat on it though on at least one notable occasion he attempted to broker a considerable bribe between the AFP and both Talib Japalali and Rodolfo Baluyo but neither man went for the cash. Not successful Judge Aventurado then has the case dropped from Murder to Homicide on May 11th of that same year, while dropping twenty-four of the soldiers from the case. This was rationalised by simply stating that he found the platoon team leader, Sergeant Serafin Jerry Napoles Jr. more believable when he finally rendered his long awaited counter-affadavit. The specific sticking point was eyewitness Ladia stating that the soldiers fired on them as they rushed the female victim to the clinic. Sergeant Napoles contended that it was his men who had taken the woman to the clinic upon his orders.
At that point the case narrows down to the following eight soldiers:
1) Sergeant Serafin Jerry Napoles Jr.
2) Private First Class (Pfc.) Rene S.Sumog-oy
3) Pfc. Mark P.Sabellano
4) Pfc. Jupil Perocho Balilihan
5) Pfc. Ramon L.Araneta Jr.
6) Pfc. Eusebio L.Entero II
7) Pfc. Rodel N.Bacangoy
8) Pfc. Gene R.Usgod
and yet still sat on the warrants for those eight men. By the end of August the same NGO that had initially pressed the case into motion, TFDP, or Task Force Detainees of the Philippines, filed a petition charging Judge Aventurado with Grave Abuse of Discretion for his failing to have had even the eight remaining warrants executed as well as the related violation of the Code of Conduct for having had the charges of Murder bumped down to Homicide.
Naturally people ask why the AFP would strive with clear purpose to murder sleeping people. With the "NPA" story having been tossed out first it is clear that the AFP, at least in that sector, had had no idea at all that Bacur was in the MNLF/BMA. A Muslim belonging to the MNLF is basically a non-issue and it was much the same in 2004 when this incident took place. In many barangays every Muslim male from late childhood on was a BMA irregular. Even Regulars spent two weeks home each month to support their families. For what it is worth, as Talib Japalali, Bacar's elder brother and landlord, says it was almost certainly related to a land dispute with a Bisaya clan, bringing the complicating pretext of religion, ethnicity, and tribalism into play as is too often the case here in Mindanao. Talib inherited his farm from his grandfather, one of the very few Muslims living on what us now the Davao del Norte and Compostela Valley (ComVal) provincial border. With the land developed and turning a profit it had been targeted by local Bisaya, enter the AFP.
In the 8 years since the incident happened SOUTHCOM, the Unified Regional Command has been mothballed in favour of two Unified Regional Commands, that particular area now belonging to EASMINCOM (Eastern Mindanao Command). Not long after the 4ID (Infantry Division) was reformatted to make way for a new division, the 10ID. With that change came a major reshuffling. The 404th Brigade became the 1001, and the element responsible for the Japalali Murders was drawn back to 4ID Headquarters in Cagayan del Oro City. Team Leader Sergeant Napoles filed for retirement in 2006, but the Ombudsman rejected his application (since he was under pending charges he needed a waiver from the Ombudsman for the Military). Failing that he got the next best thing, he was given De-tached Status, and so has spent the past 5 years at home.
As for the seven soldiers under him, three of them:
1) Pfc.Sabellano
2) Pfc.Bacangoy
3) Pfc.Balilihan
were grandfathered into the 10ID's recon company, the 101 DRC. One soldier:
1) Pfc.Araneta
ended up leaving recon and is now attached to the 60IB (Infantry Battalion). Another, since promoted in rank:
1) Corporal Sumog-oy
is now attached to 1001st Brigade Headquarters, on a hill overlooking the Japalali Farm. If his seven mates are able to focus on other things one is sure that that night back in 2004 lays heavy on Corporal Sumog-oy's mind each and every day. The last two men:
1) Pfc.Usgod
2) Pfc.Entero
are still with 4ID and still with the 402DRC which these days only deals with NPA, operating almost entirely in Mindanao's Caraga Region. All eight men are out on bail and according to the AFP restricted to base but of course that is nonsense. The trial in Tagum City ended in mid-October but the way the Philippine system of justice worls, a verdict will probanly be pomulgated in late 2012 (seriously).
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