The Philippine Army has condemned the killing of a
two-year-old girl who was accidentally shot by communist rebels chasing a
former militia member in a remote village
of Matuguinao , Samar
province on Friday morning.
Lt. Col. Seigfred Tubalado, commanding officer of the
Philippine Army’s 43 infantry battalion, said that six armed rebels led by
Gilbert Erasga were hunting down former militia member Jovic Dela Cruz Obiado
and chanced upon him resting in a waiting shed near the house of the girl’s
parents in Mahanud village.
Obiado saw the gunmen who pursued him and fired their rifles
with automatic shots, killing Disley Arandia who was sleeping inside their
house.
The girl’s mother, Perlita, screamed after seeing Disley profusely
bleeding from the shots. The NPA members stopped chasing Obiado and escaped.
“We condole with the family of the child. This is one of the
most barbaric attacks of the NPA rebels not even sparing children,” Tubalado
said.
He said indiscriminate firing on innocent civilians and the
killing of a child is a clear violation of the Comprehensive Agreement on
Respect for Human Rights and International Law (CARHRIL), which the Communist
Party of the Philippines
“The barbaric act is a clear violation of human rights and
with this act, NPAs can be classified as plain terrorist plaguing peaceful
communities,” Tubalado said.
"This is not fighting for a cause. This is a disservice
to the community they claim to represent," he added.
The army and local police launched a hot pursuit against the
perpetrators.
Last year, people in remote villages of the town had to flee
their homes in the wake of armed clashes between government forces and NPA
rebels.
The NPA – the armed wing of the CPP – has been fighting the
government since the late 1960s. Remote villages in Samar Island
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=750511
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