Top military officials in Surigao del Sur have met the province's governor, Johnny Pimentel, to clarify issues on the alleged involvement of the military in atrocities against the Lumad in the province, Armed Forces chief of staff Gen Hernando Iriberri said Monday evening.
In the telecast of GMA News & Public Affairs' "Bawal Ang Pasaway with Mareng Winnie", Gen. Iriberri did not say however any details on specific results of the meeting of the Army's division commander and brigade commander with Governor Pimentel.
Iriberri said in the interview with GMA'S Winnie Monsod that the suspects in the alleged killings of three Lumad leaders are not military personnel nor members of the paramilitary militia known as the CAFGU (Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit).
The AFP chief also said the "Bagani", a paramilitary group operating in the province is not part of the military's structure. He added that there are six Bagani commands they are aware of.
By way of background, Iriberri said two out of three members of the New Peoples' Army in Surigao are Lumads because the NPA are deliberately targeting the Lumad in their recruitment efforts.
He said the NPA now has only over four thousand members from the 1980s high of 35 thousand in the 1980s.
The AFP chief also said some members of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) are helping or supportive of the NPA.
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/537785/news/nation/army-officials-meet-surigao-gov-pimentel-on-lumads-plight
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