v11n0203

Pedro Calilung was last seen at 9am at a public market in
guagua, Pampanga. Calilung was a community organizer of
market vendors in the area. After he was last seen, he could not
be contacted until his colleagues were able to speak to him on 26
October via his mobile phone. Calilung sounded frightened and
could not properly speak. when asked about his whereabouts,
surprisingly he did not elaborate. however, he claimed that he was
staying with his relatives. But when follow-up calls were made to
his relatives they confirmed that he was not staying with them.
neither, they said, were they aware of his whereabouts.
Following that Calilung could no longer be contacted on his
mobile phone. It is learned though that prior to his disappearance,
Calilung had already shared with his colleagues and some people
in his community his security concerns. he once mentioned
that: “the military agents are spying on me”. his suspicion was
prompted by several occasions in which unknown persons were
inquiring about him and his activities.
Calilung came from a family of farmers who are natives of
Bacolor, Pampanga. Calilung himself had been deeply involved
in activism even before martial Law was declared in the early 70s
during the regime of Ferdinand marcos. he had been arrested
and detained for almost two years as a political detainee. he too
had experienced brutal torture in the early years of his activism.
Calilung was also involved in organizing victims of the
calamity when the mt. Pinatubo volcano exploded in the early
90s, displacing thousands of villagers several municipalities in
Pampanga province.
Story 58: Shot dead while driving a motorcycle
rickshaw
Victim: Antonio Mercado, 54, a motorcycle rickshaw driver,
married with children, a resident of Barangay Salamanca,
Toboso; chairperson of the National Federation of Sugar Workers
Food and General Trade (NFSW-FGT) in Barangay Salamangka
Alleged perpetrators: Two men wearing balaclavas and
camouflage shorts riding on a motorcycle
Date of incident: 13 October 2007 at 10am
Place of incident: Purok (a sub-subsection of village) Malinawon
Poblacion, Toboso, Negros Occidental
AHRC-UA-307-2007
At 10am on 13 October 2007, Antonio mercado was driving
his motorcycle three-wheeler. Two men, wearing camouflage
shorts and balaclavas, shot him as they came close to him on
their honda motorcycle. The gunman used a .45 calibre pistol
and the victim died instantly.
At the time of his death, he was the chairperson of the
local chapter of nFSw-FgT in Barangay Salamangka. Their
article 2 � June-Sept 2012 Vol. 11, No. 2-3
“
Prior to his
disappearance,
Calilung had
already shared with
his colleagues and
some people in his
community his
security concerns.
”
113