Tadian town sets ‘rally for peace’ on July 15

From the Philippine Information Agency  (Jul 14): Tadian town sets ‘rally for peace’ on July 15

The peace-loving people of this town will converge at their municipal hall ground on July 15 for a “Rally for Peace” as an offshoot of the ambush by the New People’s Army of police scout trainees here recently.

In a communication sent to the local media, mayor Anthony Wooden said their Municipal Peace and Order Council which he also chairs, agreed to hold a rally for peace to show that the people of Tadian are peace-loving people and abhor violence.

The rally for peace, which also coincides with the Cordillera Day celebration, will start with a parade around the town’s business district and ends at the municipal hall grounds for a Eucharistic Mass and a program.

With a theme “Sustained Peace, Progress and Development,” speakers from the various sectors in the municipality are expected to air their sentiments regarding the ambush incident as well as suggest measures to maintain peace and order in their municipality.

Political leaders, religious leaders and employees of agencies and the academe and the men in uniform in the province were also invited to attend the activity.

It will be recalled that last June 28, 95 police scout trainees and four of their instructors were on their regular early morning jogging exercises on a national road at sitio Am-o, Poblacion, Tadian, when they were attacked by suspected NPA rebels killing one trainee and wounding nine others.

The Leonardo Pacsi Command of the NPA in Mt. Province claimed responsibility of the ambush.

On July 2, the provincial government led an indignation rally at the provincial plaza that saw the participation of thousands of placard-bearing students, local officials, employees of the national and local agencies and the private sectors to denounce the latest NPA atrocities.

Aside from the messages in the rallyists’ placards and streamers, various speakers including congressman Maximo Dalog, Sr., governor Leonard Mayaen, EDNP Bishop Brent Alawas, mayor Franklin Odsey, Tadian Mayor Wooden and Sagada Sanguniang Bayan Indigenous  Peoples representative Jaime Dugao took turns in denouncing the ambush staged by the NPA rebels to the helpless and armless police trainees.

Board member Alfonso Kiat-ong, chairman of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan committee on peace and order, also read a resolution strongly condemning the ambush incident perpetrated by the armed groups to the police trainees.

The Tadian MPOC earlier came out with their strongly worded resolution “strongly condemning the latest NPA ambush” which they said breached the peace and order of their municipality.

http://www.pia.gov.ph/news/index.php?article=131373614200