Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Northern Luzon Command (Nolcom) chief Major General Gregorio Catapang has assured tribal folks in mining covered villages in three towns here that a fair and proper investigation will be done to establish whether or not the soldiers who were under security operation in the said areas have committed human rights abuses.
“I have caused their relief from their deployment in strategic areas in towns of Dupax del Norte and Kasibu and they are now in the barracks awaiting the result of the investigation,” Catapang said Monday after paying a courtesy call on Governor Ruth Padilla.
He also proceeded to the areas where the alleged human rights abuses took place in order to know more of the situation in Barangays Yabbi, Binuangan and Belance in Dupax del Norte town and Barangays Pao, Pacquet and Kakiduguen in Kasibu towns.
Catapang who also admitted that there were violations committed by soldiers deployed in the upland barangays. He, however, vowed to enforce punishment and penalty for their alleged abuses.
“If ever there will be violations, we will punish them but they might have been misinterpreted for their actions. Their penalty depends… they can be discharged from the service,” he said.
Catapang said the soldiers swooped down on the mining –covered areas based on the request of the officials of Royalco Resource Ltd., asking security against the anti-mining villagers who have set up barricades along the access road to prevent the entry of equipments of the mining firm.
He added that the soldiers were also conducting military operations in the area as remnants of the New People’s Army (NPA) with 15 to 20 armed members seen frequenting the said areas.
“Our soldiers were after the NPA guerillas who were sighted near the mining-areas. They were there to engage them once they have identified their location,” Catapang said.
The Army chief made his statement after Representative Carlos Padilla, also one of the deputy house speakers in a privilege speech last August 27, assailed soldiers deployed earlier in the mining-areas of causing panic and alleged human rights abuses against several villagers who are mostly members of the Bugkalot and other tribal groups.
He said the establishment of barricades by anti-mining villagers proved to be the most effective device to prevent the equipments of the mining firm in entering their ancestral lands.
But soldiers implicated in the human rights violations denied the allegations, saying they were just following proper procedure in paying a courtesy call to the village officials, further dismissed reports of looting from the villagers’ properties.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=564143
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