Tabuk City, Kalinga – After the dismantling of the civilian post in the disputed boundary of Butbut and Betwagan tribe, Butbut tribe declared Cordillera Police Regional Director, Kalinga Police Provincial Director and two others Persona Non Grata within the areas of the tribe in the province.
Through Resolution No. 01 S. Of 2021, Regional Director PBGen. R’win Pagkalinawan, Provincial Director PCol. Davy Vicente Limmong, 2nd KPMFC Commander PMaj. Daniel Fakat, and PLtCol. Armando Lorette Jr. of Kalinga Police Provincial Office were declared Persona Non Grata in Barangays Bugnay, Buscalan, Loccong, Butbut Proper, and Ngibat of Tinglayan as well as other barangays and sitios occupied by the said tribe in Kalinga.
The resolution was signed by the Barangay Captains of Bugnay, Loccong, Butbut Proper, and Ngibat in Tinglayan as well as the Barangay captain of Lacnog in Tabuk City and a councilor in Liwan West, Rizal and others on February 24.
The content of the resolution
Under the resolution, they wrote that the community of Bugnay put up an outpost at the border area to secure their community from impending attacks from Betwagan tribe after the severance of their Bodong on February 3, 2020.
With the situation, the Local Government Unit requested personnel from the Armed Forces of the Philippines to be deployed at the disputed area as Peace Keeping Force.
The civilian outpost they built was later improved by the AFP as their encampment. However, on January 1, 2021, these AFP personnel were pulled out from their post.
This, they said, resulted to their re-occupation of the post to secure their community. “Since the peace pact was already severed, the Betwagan tribe keeps on harassing and attacking the community,” they wrote.
They added that they were willing to leave the post if the Peace Keeping Force will return to guarantee the community’s security. However, the PNP, they said, insisted on the dismantling of the post without deploying a Peace Keeping Force.
“The community does not allow the demolition of the civilian encampments if there would be no Peace Keeping Force unit that would be deployed in the disputed area because the civilians are obliged to secure the community in the absence of Peace Keeping Force,” they wrote in the resolution.
They said a negotiation was conducted between the Bugnay Barangay Officials with the Council of Elders and the PNP for peaceful dismantling and a Memorandum of Agreement was supposed to be executed.
“While the MOA is being signed, the PNP under the direct supervision of PMAJ Fakat and PLTCOL Lorette proceeded immediately with the dismantling of said civilian posts thereby disregarding the ongoing negotiation and the executed MOA,” they said.
Not dismantling but arson
The tribe claimed that what the PNP did was not dismantling but rather an arson and malicious mischief burning everything including private logs and kitchen utensils used.
“Because of these actions or activities of the PNP in relation to this ongoing boundary dispute which are not duly coordinated or consulted with the community and the tribe, the latter started to doubt on the true intention of the PNP and is starting to lose confidence and trust with the PNP. In fact, the community already petitioned for the immediate pull-out of the PNP RMFB deployed in the community due to intense dismay of what the PNP is doing,” stated the resolution.
The Butbut tribe further said in the resolution that the Police Regional Director was enforcing rules and initiating moves without consulting the concerned tribe along with the PLGU and MLGU during negotiation.
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