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Filipina: Anak Perempuan Pemimpin Gerombolan Pemberontak Tewas Dibunuh

Kategori: Filipina, Hak Asasi Manusia, Kaum Muda, Pemerintahan, Perang & Konflik, Politik

Malam hari tangal 5 Maret 2009, dua pria bersenjata menculik Rebelyn Pitao, seorang guru berusia 20 tahun yang berasal dari  kota Davao, Filipina bagian selatan. Keesokan hari, jenazahnya ditemukan di kota tetangga, terdapat luka tusukan yang diperkirakan berasal dari pemecah es batu, yang mensinyalir adanyapenyiksaan dan kemungkinan besar pemerkosaan.

Rebelyn akan menginjak usia 21 tahun tanggal 20 Maret mendatang.  Meski Rebelyn merupakan anak perempuan Lenicio Pitao, pemimpin pergerakan komunis New People’s Army [en], bunda Rebelyn mengatakan bahwa anaknya tak terlibat dalam aktivitas ayahandanya.

Presiden Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, yang kerap dibayang-bayangi dengan tuduhan pelanggaran HAM [1] dalam kampanye memerangi pemberontak,  menyangkal [2] keterkaitan militer dalam aksi penculikan dan pembunuhan Rebelyn.

Banyak yang naik pitam oleh sebab kejahatan nista ini. Peristiwa ini mendapat beberapa reaksi di komunitas bloger Filipina, termasuk  sebuah puisi [3] oleh  E. San Juan, Jr., seorang tokoh intelektual dan budayawan Filipina [4].

Jika saja Rebelyn tetap hidup, dia dapat melakukan lebih banyak hal untuk melayani masyarakatsebagai seorang guru, tulis [5] Norma Dollaga. Blog Marry Anne's Musings menuliskan pesan simpatinya [6] bagi korban dan orang-orang terkasih korban.

Aku tidak mengenal Rebelyn Pitao secara pribadi namun aku terenyuh mendengar apa yang terjadi padanya, ketika mereka menemukan jenazahnya di sungai, hanya dengan pakaian dalam yang melekat, dan terdapat luka tusukan. Kedua tangannya diikat dan mulutnya dilekatkan dengan lakban, menumbuhkan spekulasi bahwa dia telah disiksa dan diperkosa. Aku sebagai seorang Ibu akan melakukan apapun untuk melindungi anaknya, agar mereka tidak  terluka di dunia yang kejam ini, Aku akan merasa terluka tiga kali lipat jika anak perempuanku terluka. Simpati terdalamku untuk Ibunda Rebelyn, dan turut berduka cita pada keluarganya.

Blog That Word in Me naik pitam [7] dengan pelanggaran harga dan kesucian hidup manusia.

Never mind that she was the daughter of a rebel; a rebel who the government has failed time and again to capture; who has had a string of battlefield victories under his Command against the military and the government.

What infuriates me, what really, really infuriates me is the fact that something so heinous and monstrous was done to an innocent person. Was it her fault that she was her father’s daughter? Was it her fault that her father has eluded capture all these years? What has she got to do with all these?

The gruesome killing points to the sad state of human rights in the country, writes [8]veteran journalist Ding Gagelonia.

We are supposed to be living in a democracy with the Bill of Rights a cornerstone of the Republic.

But what has just happened to 20-year-old Rebelyn Pitao tells us otherwise.

Who killed Rebelyn, Gagelonia further asks [9]? Many, like Musings of a Random Mind [10], attribute the abduction and slaying to the military.

if it’s not the elements in the military, then who would have the capacity and motivation to kidnap and murder a young woman whose only “crime” was being the daughter of a rebel leader? human rights watch reported last year that the number of extra-judicial killings in the philippines have increased significantly after president gloria arroyo declared an “all-out war” against the new people’s army in 2006.

president gloria arroyo has ordered a probe into the killing so that the murderers can be punished. judging from the results of previous investigations of this nature, however, nothing much can be expected from an administration perceived to be the most corrupt in philippine history.

Father Amado Picaradal, a priest and peace activist, laments [11] the persistence of a “culture of death” in the country.

Over 25 years ago, the killing of suspected subversives and criminals were a common occurence. I was hoping that it would be a thing in the past with the fall of the Marcos dictatorial rule. Today it continues in Davao. There is a death squad that assassinates suspected criminals and there is also another group abducts and kills not only suspected rebels but also their relatives. This is another manifestation of the culture of death and the spiral of violence in our land.