Groups renew call for justice for Davao de Oro ‘massacre’ victims

No armed encounter took place based on information from locals.

CAGAYAN DE ORO — Four years have passed but justice remains elusive for five individuals killed in New Bataan, Davao de Oro.

Kalipunan ng Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas (Katribu), a national alliance of Indigenous peoples organizations, stressed that volunteer teachers Chad Booc and Gelejurain Ngujo II, community health worker Elgyn Balonga, and two accompanying drivers Robert Aragon and Tirso Añar—collectively known as the New Bataan 5—were not part of any armed groups.

Beverly Longid, Katribu national convener, said their killing is a grave violation of the International Humanitarian Law (IHL). “They were civilians. They bore no arms. Yet they were arbitrarily branded as enemies of the state to justify their execution.”

IHL, which applies to both international and non-international armed conflicts, protects those who do not take part in the fighting, including civilians, as well as combatants who have ceased to take part.

On February 23, 2022, the Save our Schools (SOS) Network, an alliance of organizations advocating for children’s right to education, said that the five were “massacred” while on their way to Davao City from a community visit. 

Contrary to the statement released by the Army’s 10th Infantry Division, the group said that no armed encounter took place based on information from locals. This was also affirmed by the Communist Party of the Philippines through coordination with the New People’s Army unit in the area.

Forensic examination also showed that there was an intent to kill, according to a 2022 report by Inquirer.net.

SOS Network, together with advocacy groups Liyang Network and Sabokahan Tomo Kamalitanan (Unity of Lumad Women), remembered the New Bataan 5 with strong calls for justice for thousands of children from Indigenous communities who were deprived of free and quality education following the shut down of Lumad schools.

“[Booc] and [Ngujo] dedicated their time and lives so that Lumad children in the most remote communities could learn to read and write,” the groups said in a joint statement.

Prior to their deaths, Booc, who graduated cum laude from the University of the Philippines Diliman, was a Lumad school teacher in the Alternative Learning Center for Agricultural and Livelihood Development (Alcadev) in Surigao del Sur, while Ngujo became a teacher in the Community Technical College of Southeastern Mindanao (CTCSM) after he finished his studies at Liceo de Davao-Briz Campus in Tagum City.

The advocacy groups criticized the Last Mile Schools program of the Department of Education (DepEd) following reports of questionable government projects under the said program which aims to address the gaps in school resources and facilities in geographically isolated and conflict-affected areas.

Read: Dubious school building projects in Davao del Norte hinterland slammed

They said that the number of completed school building projects under the said DepEd program is only a fraction of the more than 200 Lumad schools forcibly closed during the Duterte administration.

A document from the Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department of the House of Representatives showed that out of 168 Last Mile schools targeted in 2023, only 10 schools were completed in the same year.

The Mindanao chapter of SOS Network said that the deaths of the New Bataan 5 and the forced closure of Lumad schools prove that impunity during the administration of Duterte—who is currently under pre-trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC) for his alleged crimes against humanity for murder—expanded beyond his bloody “war on drugs.”

For the group, the ICC proceedings strengthen its demand for justice for communities harmed by Duterte policies. The network said it remembers the New Bataan 5 “not only as victims but also as educators and servants of Indigenous communities.” (DAA)

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