Cases filed on Calauit shooting incident
By Lyzl Pilapil And Cherie Lou Josol
A member of the Balik Calauit Movement (BCM) shot at and wounded by
security guards of the Calauit Game Reserve and Wildlife Sanctuary in
Busuanga last November 21 recently filed a frustrated murder complaint
against the guards and PCSD personnel involved in the incident.
Apparently in reaction to the filing of the murder case, the Palawan
Council for Sustainable Development Staff (PCSDS) slapped the victim
with its own complaint for poaching in a protected area and for illegal
possession of firearms.
The lawsuits intensified the protracted conflict between members of
the BCM who were the original residents of Calauit Island displaced
when the sanctuary was established during the Marcos administration,
and the PCSDS which manages the reservation.
Shot by security guards were Amado Loquib and Rexon dela Cruz, both
residents of Calauit. The PCSD guards accused them of hunting inside
the reserve. They claimed that they first heard gunshots fired and saw
Loquib and dela Cruz walking towards their direction, prompting them
to open warning shots.
But Loquib claimed they had no guns and were only there gathering crabs
and clams in the mangrove area. He accused Froiland Sariego, manager
of the Calauit Game Reserve, of having ordered the guards to fire at
them. He claimed that one of the guards, Bernard Piojo of Leonor Investigation
Security and Allied Services beat him while he was lying wounded on
the ground.
Loquib filed a case for frustrated murder against Sariego, Piojo and
Edmundo Albag, an animal caretaker in the reserve.
