Govt aid helps heal pain of massacre victims' families
Published Oct 30, 2019 06:31 pm
By Marie Tonette Marticio
BAYBAY CITY – Lina Amadora was only nine years old when New People's Army (NPA) guerrillas killed her father in what is now known as the Inopacan Massacre.
(Photo via Marie Tonette Marticio / MANILA BULLETIN)
The remains of her father were among those found in a mass grave discovered by the Army in Sitio Sapang Daco, Barangay Kaulisihan in Inopacan, Leyte on Aug. 26, 2006.
The grave reportedly had skeletal remains of at least 300 suspected military informers and collaborators.
"My father was only about 30 when he was killed. It hurts a lot for a daughter to be left by her father," Lina said.
"I cannot forget what happened because I wanted to finish school, but I couldn't because no one would help my mother take care of my siblings and provide for our needs because she just gave birth at that time with our youngest sibling,” she said.
Lina was only able to finish grade school because she had to help her mother dry palay in the day and go fishing at night to feed her five children.
She admitted that she resented the government for not helping the victims of the massacre. "Why would they help the NPAs who surrendered, when they did not know how we felt at that time?" the girl said.
Her outlook changed last Tuesday after National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr., who is also the vice chairman of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), led the distribution of P5,000 in financial assistance to 135 families who lost relatives in the massacre.
They received P5,000 more plus groceries from the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office, during the launch of the Halad ug Panaghiusa Alang sa Kalinaw Ug Kalambuan (Special Convergence Mission for Peace and Development) on behalf of President Duterte who is the task force chair.
The survivors associations from Baybay City, Inopacan and Mahaplag Leyte also received livelihood assistance.
Monterico Upland Farmers Association, Amguhan-Maypatag Survivors Association, and Ampihanon Survivors Association received P100,000 to start a rice retailing project, while the Kabunga-an Livelihood Association received P100,000 for a swine production project.
Lina said she has been trying to move on, but every time they commemorate the discovery of the mass grave, the painful memories return.
Esperon said he hopes the insurgency will end soon through the help of LGUs and other government agencies.
"Kung ganito kagaling ang ating mga local government officials ay ang laki ng paniwala namin na magagawan ng kalunasan ang mga hinaing lalong-lalo na ng mga nasa barangay. Governance here is working very well kaya duda ako kung may mabubuhay pa na NPA dito," he said.
Baybay Mayor Jose Carlos Cari said that aside from livelihood assistance, he has been working to build concrete roads to areas where insurgency is still a problem.
"Some people wonder why the government provides assistance to former rebels, but not the families of the victims of their atrocities? We also want to help them even in our own little way," he said.
(Photo via Marie Tonette Marticio / MANILA BULLETIN)
The remains of her father were among those found in a mass grave discovered by the Army in Sitio Sapang Daco, Barangay Kaulisihan in Inopacan, Leyte on Aug. 26, 2006.
The grave reportedly had skeletal remains of at least 300 suspected military informers and collaborators.
"My father was only about 30 when he was killed. It hurts a lot for a daughter to be left by her father," Lina said.
"I cannot forget what happened because I wanted to finish school, but I couldn't because no one would help my mother take care of my siblings and provide for our needs because she just gave birth at that time with our youngest sibling,” she said.
Lina was only able to finish grade school because she had to help her mother dry palay in the day and go fishing at night to feed her five children.
She admitted that she resented the government for not helping the victims of the massacre. "Why would they help the NPAs who surrendered, when they did not know how we felt at that time?" the girl said.
Her outlook changed last Tuesday after National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr., who is also the vice chairman of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), led the distribution of P5,000 in financial assistance to 135 families who lost relatives in the massacre.
They received P5,000 more plus groceries from the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office, during the launch of the Halad ug Panaghiusa Alang sa Kalinaw Ug Kalambuan (Special Convergence Mission for Peace and Development) on behalf of President Duterte who is the task force chair.
The survivors associations from Baybay City, Inopacan and Mahaplag Leyte also received livelihood assistance.
Monterico Upland Farmers Association, Amguhan-Maypatag Survivors Association, and Ampihanon Survivors Association received P100,000 to start a rice retailing project, while the Kabunga-an Livelihood Association received P100,000 for a swine production project.
Lina said she has been trying to move on, but every time they commemorate the discovery of the mass grave, the painful memories return.
Esperon said he hopes the insurgency will end soon through the help of LGUs and other government agencies.
"Kung ganito kagaling ang ating mga local government officials ay ang laki ng paniwala namin na magagawan ng kalunasan ang mga hinaing lalong-lalo na ng mga nasa barangay. Governance here is working very well kaya duda ako kung may mabubuhay pa na NPA dito," he said.
Baybay Mayor Jose Carlos Cari said that aside from livelihood assistance, he has been working to build concrete roads to areas where insurgency is still a problem.
"Some people wonder why the government provides assistance to former rebels, but not the families of the victims of their atrocities? We also want to help them even in our own little way," he said.