Verify first complaints against the soldiers in Paquibato - City Mayor

From the Philippine Information Agency (Nov 13): Verify first complaints against the soldiers in Paquibato - City Mayor

Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio cited the need for city councilors to verify first the information about soldiers encamped at a government infrastructure in the countryside before approving a resolution driving away the soldiers from the establishment to that effect. She said it is very important to establish first the veracity of this type of information whether it is either hearsay or propaganda from progressive groups supporting the cause of the rebels. Duterte-Carpio said it would be better if the city councilors really have a good grasp of the barangays where soldiers occupy public buildings. She said that though it must be stressed that the soldiers must not be allowed to stay in the barangay halls, barangay chairs can assert and tell the immediate officer of the soldiers to vacate the building if they are indeed using the facility as their shelter. Duterte-Carpio said based on her own verification, the soldiers are not really confined in the barangay hall, but only on the general area of the barangay office. She said the soldiers cannot be driven away since they are not actually occupying the building as their shelter. “I sent personnel to Barangay Lumiad, Barangay Mapula and in Barangay Malabog to verify complaints about the soldiers either occupying government buildings or encamped beside a school,” Duterte-Carpio. She reiterated that every peace and development team in the countryside is welcomed by the barangay officials who agree with the soldiers on the kind of living arrangement in the area. Duterte-Carpio said propaganda from the progressive groups about the situation in Paquibato is not taken as the general sentiment of the residents in the area. “If the information is left-leaning, we validate and it has no basis, only propaganda, then we discard,” she said. Duterte-Carpio explained that more than the issues happening in Paquibato, the conflict between the soldiers and the rebels is also a propaganda war. She said accusations must be validated and if found to be true, clear solutions must be imposed favoring the local government functionaries like the barangay captain so that he can perform his responsibilities effectively to the community. Duterte-Carpio said the city has allocated a P150-Million worth of road network in Paquibato that will link 13 of its barangays to the city.

http://www.pia.gov.ph/news/index.php?article=2381352706642