‘No sorry for Negros ambush’, rebels told

From the Philippine News Agency (Feb 2): ‘No sorry for Negros ambush’, rebels told

The tape-recorded public apology of the New People’s Army (NPA) for killing eight civilians and a policeman in La Castellana in Negros Occidental was unacceptable, according to officials of Philippine Army (PA).

“(It) is not enough to indemnify the victim’s families and the communities affected,” stressed Captain Anacito Naz, public information officer of 302nd Infantry Brigade in a statement.  NPA Leonardo Panaligan Command has claimed responsibility for the recent ambush but killing the civilians was allegedly beyond their plan.

Ka JB Regalado, the rebel’s spokesperson, said their original plan was to only disarm the policemen and members of the Barangay Peacekeeping Action Team. But it did not work that way.

Naz, however, pointed out that NPA’s apology could excuse them from their crimes. They were not above the law nor they were exempted from it, he said. “Any person found guilty of any crime must be punished commensurate to their offense,” he said.

For his part, Brigade Commander Col. Francisco M. Patrimonio said NPA’s public apology and “confession” were unbelievable.  Patrimonio said NPAs could not be trusted since the ambush was a typical incident where they demonstrated their nature of violence.  He then urged the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), left-leaning or progressive groups like the Karapatan to look into matter.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=493608