Army welcomes complaints, probe on alleged human rights violations by soldiers

From the Philippine News Agency (Jun 23): Army welcomes complaints, probe on alleged human rights violations by soldiers

The Philippine Army welcomes complaints as well as investigation by proper authorities on alleged human rights violations by soldiers against civilians during an armed clash last week in the mountain village of Talalac, Sta. Catalina town in south Negros Oriental.

Lt. Col. Harold Anthony Pascua, commanding officer of the 79th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army based in Siaton, Negros Oriental, however, clarified that so far he has not received any formal complaints from residents in the area where skirmishes between his soldiers and suspected New People’s Army (NPA) members took place last June 13 and 14.

Pascua’s statement came in the heels of a statement from the Promotion of Church People’s Response (PCPR) of the Holy Family Parish in Lumbangan, Mabinay town in Negros Oriental, calling for justice and for the protection of human rights.

The unsigned electronic statement circulated to the media Monday and bearing the name of Fr. Nenito Narciso, PCPR chairman, denounced what they believe were human rights violations by 79th IB soldiers at the height of the two-day encounter in Talalak.

Some of the allegations include illegal search, harassment, destruction of properties, indiscriminate firing, psychological torture and theft, among others.

The statement further alleged that a farmer was forced to take off his search and subsequently “searched despite his protest”, while Rosa dela Cruz, a mother of six and a resident of the sub-village of Kakha in Talalak, was forced to open and empty her bag of its contents by a certain Junil de la Cruz, a member of Citizens Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU).

Also, Delmar Larriosa and Rosa dela Cruz were held at gunpoint by the soldiers, the PCPR statement further said.

Other accusations included alleged illegal search of the house of Larriosa’s father, Melchor, corn crops destroyed and homes looted, while indiscriminate firing by soldiers had left civilians traumatized, the statement went on to say.

PCPR said these were in violation of the “Comprehensive Agreement on the Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) signed by the State and the National Democratic Front (and) should be respected along with various other instruments and pertinent national laws”.

“These instruments are explicit in its rule: human rights must be protected and respected at all times. They should never be targets of any offenses done by State elements”, the PCPR statement added.

PCPR is calling on the different churches and human rights organizations and the local government unit of Sta. Catalina and the provincial government “to defend and protect the human rights of the civilians” and that “perpetrators should be held accountable and penalized”.

Lt. Col. Pascua, meanwhile, disclosed that in a dialogue organized by Talalak Barangay Captain Edmar M. Bigay on June 18, three days after the armed clashes, there were no such complaints coming from residents.

He said that soldiers and policemen were not part of the dialogue but were situated some distance away just to secure the area.

Pascua said he cannot answer every single allegation by the PCPR as he has not seen its statement yet, but assured that the Philippine Army will cooperate with any investigation to be conducted by authorities, such as the Commission on Human Rights.

The Army commander also noted that one of the alleged victims of the human rights violations, Rose dela Cruz, was the wife of Misael dela Cruz, also known as “Jimlan”.

“Jimlan” is allegedly a ranking leader of the NPA’s South East Front and was purportedly the one who headed the group of seven armed men with whom 79th IB soldiers figured in two days of sporadic clashes in Talalak the weekend before last, said Pascua.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=775516