Rebel without a cause: A Higa-onon's Walkabout
Mike Banos
July 17, 2006
Like most of his neighbors, Bruno Lindahay was born in this hamlet located 890 meters above sea level and 18 kilometers from the national highway linking Balingasag to the rest of the province and the Caraga region.
Also, like 95 percent of the 400-odd residents of Lantad, Lindahay is an ethnic Higaonon. His ancestors were originally from Barangay Napiliran but were forced up the mountains during the Spanish occupation and have lived in the boondocks ever since.
Now a year removed from being officially classified as a senior citizen, Lindahay finished 4th grade at the Lantad Primary School in 1964 at an age when other teeners like him were already finishing high school. The school only attained elementary status in 1997, so in the interim, many residents like Lindahay had to content themselves with finishing primary school.
But this didn’t deter the young Lindahay from running for barangay councilor and winning in 1970 under then-barangay chairperson Zosimo Elicat.
During this time, Lindahay was already quite prosperous by the standards of those times. He owned a three-hectare farm in Lantad planted to corn and coffee and was also buying agricultural produce from his neighbors in Lantad and selling it for a profit at poblacion Balingasag.
It was relatively easy to travel to Balingasag even during those early times. One could easily hitch a ride with a logging truck of the Davao-based Vulcan logging firm, which first improved the Kibanban-Lantad road for its logging operations in 1970.
Although it ceased operations barely two years later, it left a passable road over which Lindahay and his neighbors could go to either Balingasag (18 kms downhill) or Gingoog City (nine kms uphill).
In 1980, the road was restored by the Maningo logging firm which operated until 1982. Then in 1981, the New People’s Army (NPA) started its activities in the area.
In hindsight, Lindahay says it was ignorance, not poverty, which the NPA took advantage of to impress its ideology on the lumad residents of Lantad.
"It’s not true poverty was the enemy because during this time, we were already producing vegetables and fruits which we transported to Balingasag as ‘backload’ in the Maningo dump trucks at least twice a week," Lindahay recalls. "Oftentimes, the truck had to come back for a second trip due to the volume of agri-products we produced."
However, it was the beginning of the ‘‘dark ages’’ in Lantad. In 1982, the New People’s Army (NPA) assassinated Kibanban barangay chairperson Hospicio Khu, a Filipino-Chinese businessman who used to have the biggest house in Lantad. The NPA also killed another civilian that same year.
In 1984, Lindahay was arrested by the now defunct Integrated National Police (INP) as a suspected NPA sympathizer and tortured inside his own house in Lantad. His wife ran for help to then Balingasag Mayor Porferio Roa who interceded on his behalf with the INP and saved him from his accusers.
As soon as he was released, Lindahay ran and hid in the hills where he eventually joined the NPA. "I was swayed by the NPA’s promises of free education, medical services and true agrarian reform that would make us owners of our own land," he admits. "They also promised us we would all be part-owners of big businesses in Cagayan de Oro like Gaisano and Del Monte when the NPA won its People’s Revolution against the government."
However, the NPA in turn suspected him of being a government informer due to his long public service as a barangay councilor in Kibanban and he was tried by a kangaroo court. He alleges the complaint against him was raised by the wife of one Vernon Macabalo, but was eventually released after one Dante Cagais interceded on his behalf. The five other suspects in the kangaroo court were executed by the NPA.
Then in 1987, the NPA set up a "People’s Government" in Lantad and took over the functions of all government services including education.
During the three-year period when the "People’s Government" held sway in Lantad, education was limited to rudimentary reading and writing and indoctrination in communist propaganda. Classes were taught by "teachers" who finished only 3rd or 4th grade because Lindahay believes the communist insurgency thrives on ignorance and deceit and they didn’t want the school children to learn too much and see through their deceptions.
To secure their base, the NPA utilized indigenous Higaonon bush craft to seal the hamlet from the government, police and military. The Militia ng Bayan (MBs, the NPA counterpart to the government-organized local militia or Cafgu) planted land mines and booby traps such as the abo-abo (boulders triggered by a trip wire), batik (sharpened bamboo sticks concealed in holes underfoot) and gahong (using bagakay or young bamboo sticks as suyak or spikes) to make Lantad virtually impregnable.
"At the height of the insurgency in 1990, there were 200 NPA armed recruits training in Lantad armed with weapons just like the military’s," Lindahay said.
As a result of the booby traps, government forces resorted to bombing and strafing Lantad from the air with MG-520 helicopter gunships and propeller driven fighter-bombers like the Vietnam era T-33 Counter-Insurgency (or COIN in military parlance) more popularly known to locals as the "Tora-Tora" and twin-prop OV-10 Broncos which were capable of dropping 500-lb bombs.
Lindahay claims NPA guerrillas suffered minimal casualties from the air attacks since they took shelter in underground foxholes around Mt. Balatukan. Military aircraft were allegedly unable to drop lower for more accurate strafing and bombing runs since the NPA posted snipers in the upper hills who could virtually shoot down on the attacking military aircraft. They were also equipped with hand-held walkie-talkies which enabled them to coordinate the movement of forces where they were most needed or furthest from harm from the air attacks.
It was only much later when the military forces started their systematic ground offensive that the NPA began to suffer serious casualties, Lindahay claims.
During the early 1990s, the CPP-NPA began sending Lindahay and other "witnesses" of alleged AFP atrocities to speak at forums organized by militant left-leaning student groups in CPP hotbeds such as the University of the Philippines and the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.
As his interaction with his colleagues from the movement increased, Lindahay said he slowly realized that the NPA was taking advantage especially of uneducated rural folk to sway them with anti-government and communist propaganda. When the NPA ordered him to transfer to Agusan when the military offensive made Lantad too hot for them to remain any longer, he refused and told them he would stay and face the consequences in Lantad.
In 1997, Lindahay was again elected as a barangay councilor of Kibanban, a position he’s held since. In his long interaction and service as a public servant, Lindahay said it was only now that the capitol managed to deliver services to Lantad residents, most important of which was the restoration of the Kibanban-Lantad barangay road and its upgrading to a provincial road. He also acknowledged the efforts of the military through the 8th Infantry Battalion led by Lt. Col. Andrelino Colina.
The NPA made a last-ditch stand to return to Lantad in 2004-2005, reorganizing the residents into cadres but they were finally thrown out by the 8th IB in late September 2005, enabling the provincial engineer’s office to repair and restore the Kibanban-Lantad provincial road.
"Since the road was restored, people have been encouraged to plant more coffee, banana, abaca and corn since it was now possible to bring their produce down to Kibanban and Balingasag poblacion itself and get a bigger profit," Lindahay said.
He expects production to increase further with the recent turnover of a multi-purpose solar dryer which he said would enable them to sell more produce at a higher price to their buyers.
For his part, Lindahay has managed to expand his modest farm to 10 hectares and he has resumed his trading in vegetables and fruits. This has enabled him to send his children to school in Balingasag and Cagayan de Oro, the eldest of whom is now awaiting the results of the teacher’s licensure examinations.
Their most pressing need now is for electricity but the nearest electric post is still in sitio Ara-ay, some eight kms away, and they are hesitant to ask Gov. Oscar Moreno for more assistance since they understand he also has the other municipalities to attend to.
INDNJC -
Also, like 95 percent of the 400-odd residents of Lantad, Lindahay is an ethnic Higaonon. His ancestors were originally from Barangay Napiliran but were forced up the mountains during the Spanish occupation and have lived in the boondocks ever since.
Now a year removed from being officially classified as a senior citizen, Lindahay finished 4th grade at the Lantad Primary School in 1964 at an age when other teeners like him were already finishing high school. The school only attained elementary status in 1997, so in the interim, many residents like Lindahay had to content themselves with finishing primary school.
But this didn’t deter the young Lindahay from running for barangay councilor and winning in 1970 under then-barangay chairperson Zosimo Elicat.
During this time, Lindahay was already quite prosperous by the standards of those times. He owned a three-hectare farm in Lantad planted to corn and coffee and was also buying agricultural produce from his neighbors in Lantad and selling it for a profit at poblacion Balingasag.
It was relatively easy to travel to Balingasag even during those early times. One could easily hitch a ride with a logging truck of the Davao-based Vulcan logging firm, which first improved the Kibanban-Lantad road for its logging operations in 1970.
Although it ceased operations barely two years later, it left a passable road over which Lindahay and his neighbors could go to either Balingasag (18 kms downhill) or Gingoog City (nine kms uphill).
In 1980, the road was restored by the Maningo logging firm which operated until 1982. Then in 1981, the New People’s Army (NPA) started its activities in the area.
In hindsight, Lindahay says it was ignorance, not poverty, which the NPA took advantage of to impress its ideology on the lumad residents of Lantad.
"It’s not true poverty was the enemy because during this time, we were already producing vegetables and fruits which we transported to Balingasag as ‘backload’ in the Maningo dump trucks at least twice a week," Lindahay recalls. "Oftentimes, the truck had to come back for a second trip due to the volume of agri-products we produced."
However, it was the beginning of the ‘‘dark ages’’ in Lantad. In 1982, the New People’s Army (NPA) assassinated Kibanban barangay chairperson Hospicio Khu, a Filipino-Chinese businessman who used to have the biggest house in Lantad. The NPA also killed another civilian that same year.
In 1984, Lindahay was arrested by the now defunct Integrated National Police (INP) as a suspected NPA sympathizer and tortured inside his own house in Lantad. His wife ran for help to then Balingasag Mayor Porferio Roa who interceded on his behalf with the INP and saved him from his accusers.
As soon as he was released, Lindahay ran and hid in the hills where he eventually joined the NPA. "I was swayed by the NPA’s promises of free education, medical services and true agrarian reform that would make us owners of our own land," he admits. "They also promised us we would all be part-owners of big businesses in Cagayan de Oro like Gaisano and Del Monte when the NPA won its People’s Revolution against the government."
However, the NPA in turn suspected him of being a government informer due to his long public service as a barangay councilor in Kibanban and he was tried by a kangaroo court. He alleges the complaint against him was raised by the wife of one Vernon Macabalo, but was eventually released after one Dante Cagais interceded on his behalf. The five other suspects in the kangaroo court were executed by the NPA.
Then in 1987, the NPA set up a "People’s Government" in Lantad and took over the functions of all government services including education.
During the three-year period when the "People’s Government" held sway in Lantad, education was limited to rudimentary reading and writing and indoctrination in communist propaganda. Classes were taught by "teachers" who finished only 3rd or 4th grade because Lindahay believes the communist insurgency thrives on ignorance and deceit and they didn’t want the school children to learn too much and see through their deceptions.
To secure their base, the NPA utilized indigenous Higaonon bush craft to seal the hamlet from the government, police and military. The Militia ng Bayan (MBs, the NPA counterpart to the government-organized local militia or Cafgu) planted land mines and booby traps such as the abo-abo (boulders triggered by a trip wire), batik (sharpened bamboo sticks concealed in holes underfoot) and gahong (using bagakay or young bamboo sticks as suyak or spikes) to make Lantad virtually impregnable.
"At the height of the insurgency in 1990, there were 200 NPA armed recruits training in Lantad armed with weapons just like the military’s," Lindahay said.
As a result of the booby traps, government forces resorted to bombing and strafing Lantad from the air with MG-520 helicopter gunships and propeller driven fighter-bombers like the Vietnam era T-33 Counter-Insurgency (or COIN in military parlance) more popularly known to locals as the "Tora-Tora" and twin-prop OV-10 Broncos which were capable of dropping 500-lb bombs.
Lindahay claims NPA guerrillas suffered minimal casualties from the air attacks since they took shelter in underground foxholes around Mt. Balatukan. Military aircraft were allegedly unable to drop lower for more accurate strafing and bombing runs since the NPA posted snipers in the upper hills who could virtually shoot down on the attacking military aircraft. They were also equipped with hand-held walkie-talkies which enabled them to coordinate the movement of forces where they were most needed or furthest from harm from the air attacks.
It was only much later when the military forces started their systematic ground offensive that the NPA began to suffer serious casualties, Lindahay claims.
During the early 1990s, the CPP-NPA began sending Lindahay and other "witnesses" of alleged AFP atrocities to speak at forums organized by militant left-leaning student groups in CPP hotbeds such as the University of the Philippines and the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.
As his interaction with his colleagues from the movement increased, Lindahay said he slowly realized that the NPA was taking advantage especially of uneducated rural folk to sway them with anti-government and communist propaganda. When the NPA ordered him to transfer to Agusan when the military offensive made Lantad too hot for them to remain any longer, he refused and told them he would stay and face the consequences in Lantad.
In 1997, Lindahay was again elected as a barangay councilor of Kibanban, a position he’s held since. In his long interaction and service as a public servant, Lindahay said it was only now that the capitol managed to deliver services to Lantad residents, most important of which was the restoration of the Kibanban-Lantad barangay road and its upgrading to a provincial road. He also acknowledged the efforts of the military through the 8th Infantry Battalion led by Lt. Col. Andrelino Colina.
The NPA made a last-ditch stand to return to Lantad in 2004-2005, reorganizing the residents into cadres but they were finally thrown out by the 8th IB in late September 2005, enabling the provincial engineer’s office to repair and restore the Kibanban-Lantad provincial road.
"Since the road was restored, people have been encouraged to plant more coffee, banana, abaca and corn since it was now possible to bring their produce down to Kibanban and Balingasag poblacion itself and get a bigger profit," Lindahay said.
He expects production to increase further with the recent turnover of a multi-purpose solar dryer which he said would enable them to sell more produce at a higher price to their buyers.
For his part, Lindahay has managed to expand his modest farm to 10 hectares and he has resumed his trading in vegetables and fruits. This has enabled him to send his children to school in Balingasag and Cagayan de Oro, the eldest of whom is now awaiting the results of the teacher’s licensure examinations.
Their most pressing need now is for electricity but the nearest electric post is still in sitio Ara-ay, some eight kms away, and they are hesitant to ask Gov. Oscar Moreno for more assistance since they understand he also has the other municipalities to attend to.
INDNJC -
Print
Email
