CAMP Evangelista yesterday denied that New People’s Army rebels were able to get high-powered firearms and killed four soldiers when they raided a police auxiliary outpost in Talakag, Bukidnon early this month.
Capt. Christian Uy, spokesperson of the army’s 4th Infantry Division, said there is no truth to reports that the rebels took away nine high-powered firearms from the outpost in Barangay Miarayon, Talakag town.
Neither did the rebels kill four soldiers during the attack in the village around 3 am Dec. 1, Uy said.
Uy said the NPA attack was staged and as a result, two helpless civilians and a militiaman were killed.
Uy said two of the victims were Germiña Yanda and her son Jonnel, and Eddie Gawahan, a militiaman.
He said the military determined that the attack was staged by some 20 rebels and a manhunt was immediately launched by government troops.
Uy also said the Talakag police under Chief Insp. Al Abanales filed on Monday three counts of murder against the rebels.
NPA Front Guerrilla 68 spokesman Allan Juanito told local radio that the attack resulted in the seizure of nine high-powered firearms and the killing of four soldiers and a militiaman.
Juanito said the firearms taken were two Carbines, Garands, four shotguns, a caliber .45 pistol and an improvised gun.
Condemnation
He noted that one of those killed was a five-year old boy.
In a statement, Cabantan said the cold-blooded killing of defenseless and unarmed people was meant “to sow fear to provoke disunity and chaos among people living in peace.”
“They meant to inflict not only fatal wounds but also psychological trauma to annihilate the slightest resistance against them,” the bishop said.
On Dec. 1, armed men stormed Sitio San Abel, Barangay Miarayon in Talakag town and shot the victims, the statement said.
Local media reports said that the perpetrators hogtied nine men and gathered the women, children and elderly at the plaza.
“In front of people, two men were shot dead, and fatally wounding a pregnant woman. A boy aged five years old sustained a wound from a stray bullet,” the statement said.
After the shooting, about 36 families fled to Miayaron proper, where 12 of the evacuees sought refuge at the parish convent.
The bishop said that children were traumatized, adults are worried, and many got sick and needed debriefing.
On behalf of the Diocese of Malaybalay, Cabantan appealed to the perpetrators of the killings to “submit themselves towards the way to peace. The key to peace is peace itself.”
He also called on the local government leaders and law enforcers to pay attention to the victims, “whose freedom had been cut-off by living in fear.”
“We appeal to all to help restore peace and order in their communities,” Cabantan added.
Quoting Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, the bishop cited that “peace involves complete commitment. Peace is with God, with oneself, with neighbors and all creation.”
“True peacemakers are those who love, defend and promote human life in all its dimensions: personal, communitarian and transcendent. Anyone who loves peace cannot tolerate attacks and crimes against life,” the bishop said.
Cabantan said “those who opt for violence will always harvest violence.”
“Radical commitment to peace does not mean inaction but it entails a total commitment to genuine human values,” he added.
http://www.goldstardailynews.com.ph/mindanao/army-denies-rebels-killed-four-soldiers-seized-guns-in-talakag.html
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