OUTREACH PROGRAM. A soldier joins a gift-giving activity in a school in Las Navas, Northern Samar. The Philippine Army said on Friday (Feb. 21, 2020) that the New People's Army is lying when it claimed that soldiers have been using schools in the Samar provinces as a “waiting area” during their operations against the communist terrorist group. (Photo courtesy of Philippine Army)
TACLOBAN CITY – The claim of the New People's Army (NPA) that soldiers have been using some schools in the Samar provinces as a "waiting area" during their operations against the communist terrorist group is a lie, a military official said.
The military in Eastern Visayas strictly complies with directives prohibiting encampment within school premises, Philippine Army 8th Infantry Division commander, Maj. Gen. Pio Diñoso III, said on Friday.
“We have a strict policy not to use schools as temporary armoring area, patrol base, or stay overnight. These accusations are not true,” Diñoso told the Philippine News Agency (PNA).
Soldiers, he said, are only visible if they are invited by the local government, government agencies, and private organizations to assist community outreach programs held in the covered courts of schools.
“If there are accusations, make them bear the burden of truth. They should take photos, identify the army unit, and tell us the specific time and date. Don’t just make accusations by making (up) stories and posting it online,” Diñoso said.
He called the claim as another lie of the communist terrorist group in its attempt to regain former strongholds in the Samar provinces.
Department of Education (DepEd) - Northern Samar schools division superintendent Gorgonio Diaz said in a text message that they have not received any report from school officials and teachers about the presence of government troops in schools.
“As a rule, our schools are zones of peace. I believe the military know(s) this,” Diaz told PNA.
In 2018, the DepEd-Northern Samar field office said no military encampment in schools transpired in the area as the 78th Infantry Battalion and a Citizen Armed Force Geographical Unit are positioned far from schools in Las Navas town.
The education department issued the statement after left-leaning groups staged a rally in front of DepEd to support the campaign of a group of farmers from Northern Samar who relayed the alleged military encampment of campuses in Las Navas town.
In 2018, left-leaning human rights groups in Eastern Visayas also claimed that five public schools in Samar and Northern Samar were used by soldiers as waiting areas for their operations.
The Communist Party of the Philippines-NPA, which has been waging a five-decade armed struggle against the government, is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1094505
The military in Eastern Visayas strictly complies with directives prohibiting encampment within school premises, Philippine Army 8th Infantry Division commander, Maj. Gen. Pio Diñoso III, said on Friday.
“We have a strict policy not to use schools as temporary armoring area, patrol base, or stay overnight. These accusations are not true,” Diñoso told the Philippine News Agency (PNA).
Soldiers, he said, are only visible if they are invited by the local government, government agencies, and private organizations to assist community outreach programs held in the covered courts of schools.
“If there are accusations, make them bear the burden of truth. They should take photos, identify the army unit, and tell us the specific time and date. Don’t just make accusations by making (up) stories and posting it online,” Diñoso said.
He called the claim as another lie of the communist terrorist group in its attempt to regain former strongholds in the Samar provinces.
Department of Education (DepEd) - Northern Samar schools division superintendent Gorgonio Diaz said in a text message that they have not received any report from school officials and teachers about the presence of government troops in schools.
“As a rule, our schools are zones of peace. I believe the military know(s) this,” Diaz told PNA.
In 2018, the DepEd-Northern Samar field office said no military encampment in schools transpired in the area as the 78th Infantry Battalion and a Citizen Armed Force Geographical Unit are positioned far from schools in Las Navas town.
The education department issued the statement after left-leaning groups staged a rally in front of DepEd to support the campaign of a group of farmers from Northern Samar who relayed the alleged military encampment of campuses in Las Navas town.
In 2018, left-leaning human rights groups in Eastern Visayas also claimed that five public schools in Samar and Northern Samar were used by soldiers as waiting areas for their operations.
The Communist Party of the Philippines-NPA, which has been waging a five-decade armed struggle against the government, is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1094505
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