June 9, 2006

TRIBAL PEACEMAKER VIOLENTLY KILLED

BAGUIO CITY (June 9)—Pangat Rafael Markus Bangit, 47, from Tomiangan, Kalinga, was violently killed by unidentified men on in the evening of June 8, in a stopover at Brgy. San Isidro, Echague, Isabela province. He was en route to Baguio City with his eldest son. Bangit is a bodong holder between the Malbong tribe in Tomiangan, Tabuk and the Dangtalan tribe in Pasil. Another bystander, Gloria Casuga, was killed in the shooting.

Bangit was the coordinator of the Elders Desk of the Cordillera Peoples Alliance and the Bodong Pongors Organization, a federation of Cordillera tribal elders affiliated with the CPA. Inspite of his relative youth, he was very much respected by his tribal elders. This respect grew as Bangit displayed increasing skill in the settlement of inter-tribal disputes and deepening knowledge of the bodong/peacepact system. Eventually, Bangit became a peacepact holder himself. In fact, in 2005, Bangit served as a resource person to the consultation workshop of the Supreme Court Academy on Alternative Dispute Resolution, specifically on the topic of peaceful tribal mediation. He was even encouraged to apply as a mediator under the Alternative Dispute Resolution of the Supreme Court.

“It is both ironic and outrageous for a peacemaker like Markus Bangit to be gruesomely murdered by agents of the State. The continuing killing of activists only demonstrates the government’s policy of silencing vocal dissenters, no matter what they can contribute t achieving peace based on justice”, said Joan Carling, CPA chairperson.

He was also a senior member of the CPA regional secretariat. “He had been playing the role of a big brother and confidante to junior secretariat members”, the CPA said in a statement. Bangit had been based in the CPA regional office in Baguio City since 2004.

Earlier, Bangit served as chairperson of CPA-Kalinga from 1995 to 1998. He was also the secretary general of Bayan Muna-Kalinga in 2001, and is the current vice chairperson.

Days before he was gunned down, Bangit reported to colleagues that he was being tailed by sinister looking men while in Tabuk with his family.

Bangit started as a young activist in the 1970s when his village was under threat from the four megadams that the Marcos dictatorship intended to built along the Chico River. He actively participated in the Cordillera peoples’ opposition to the Chico Dams Project.

“He actively participated in the land defense activities of his people whenever he was home in Tomiangan, and in the public information and protest activities of Kalinga students when in Baguio, as a student”, the CPA added in it’s statement.

The CPA condemned the killing of Bangit and held the Gloria Macapagal Arroyo regime accountable for the continuing political killings, and the harassment and surveillance of political activists.

“We denounce the killing of Markus Bangit both as a political crime and a crime against humanity. It is a another barbaric act by a government that perpetuates itself in power through the might of a gun barrel”, the CPA said. The CPA calls on the public to “make their voices heard and cry for a stop to all political killings and to all violations of the fundamental human rights and freedoms.

An indignation rally led my the CPA, Tongtongan Ti Umili and other militant sectoral organizations was held today in Baguio City.

Bangit is survived by his wife, Augustina, and their four children, the eldest being 15 years old and the youngest, 5 years old. ### CPA Public Information Commission