The group Pasaka Confederation of Lumad Organizations in Southern Mindanao Region (PASAKA) has accused the military of harassment that led to the displacement of hundreds of civilians in the province of Compostela Valley.
“The residents also oppose the military’s encampment in school but the military insisted they had a permit from village officials and the municipal mayor of Compostela,” Monzon pointed out, adding that classes at the elementary school in the area, particularly those ran by the Salugpongan Ta ‘Tanu Igkanogon Community Learning School were disrupted due to the continued presence of the military.
The displaced residents, he added, are now temporarily housed at the municipal gymnasium of Compostela town.
Monzon added that PASAKA was also condemning the recent attack against indigenous peoples (IPs), their community and school.
But the group’s claim was refuted by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), particularly by the 10th Infantry (Agila) Division of the Philippine Army which claimed that no harassment was committed by the Army to the civilians in the area.
The evacuation of civilians was also confirmed by the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (MDRRMC) in Compostela town.
Emelito Quijano of MDRRMC in the area said in an interview that 68 adults and 60 children were housed at the municipal gym of the town when they evacuated from Mangayon in the evening of Saturday, November 28 last week.
But Quijano also reported that the evacuees have already started to go back to their communities since November 30.
http://www.mb.com.ph/group-says-military-harassment-displaced-civilians-in-comval/
In a statement sent to the media here, Jong Monzon, secretary general of PASAKA said hundreds of residents, mostly lumads from Side 4, Barangay Mangayon in Compostela town fled from their homes because of the series of harassments they experienced in the hands of the military’s 66th Infantry Battalion which operates in the area.
The displaced residents, he added, are now temporarily housed at the municipal gymnasium of Compostela town.
Monzon added that PASAKA was also condemning the recent attack against indigenous peoples (IPs), their community and school.
But the group’s claim was refuted by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), particularly by the 10th Infantry (Agila) Division of the Philippine Army which claimed that no harassment was committed by the Army to the civilians in the area.
The evacuation of civilians was also confirmed by the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (MDRRMC) in Compostela town.
Emelito Quijano of MDRRMC in the area said in an interview that 68 adults and 60 children were housed at the municipal gym of the town when they evacuated from Mangayon in the evening of Saturday, November 28 last week.
But Quijano also reported that the evacuees have already started to go back to their communities since November 30.
http://www.mb.com.ph/group-says-military-harassment-displaced-civilians-in-comval/
Pasaka Confederation of Lumad Organizations in Southern Mindanao Region (PASAKA) is a Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) associated front organization active among lumad communities in Mindanao.
ReplyDeleteIn the wake of CPP front group-sponsored Manilakbayan 2015 agitation-propaganda actions in Manila, PASAKA continues to carryout anti-military propaganda activities in an attempt to discredit the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). units conducting counterinsurgency operations against the Maoist New People's Army (NPA). in Mindanao.